Blood of a Fallen Angel
by shadowroxas101
Summary: Axel's just a normal college kid who pretty much has everything he's ever wanted, until one night when a trip to the park puts him face to face with a dying angel. Will his injuries kill him, or will something worse? Yaoi Akuroku. STORY UNDER REVISION!
1. Chapter 1

Blood of a Fallen Angel

Chapter 1

A barren wasteland, the only noticeable change in the landscape was the protruding mountains several miles away. Even though the sun was visible in the sky, the world was an unsettling inky black. It felt as though I was being watched by some malevolent entity. The deafening silence was the only indication I was alone. An odor similar to a rain drenched meadow, decaying flesh and a lake of blood permeated the landscape. The air was freezing. I glanced down and saw my hands trembling, but not from the rapidly dropping temperature. I was scared. Normally I would have done something about it, but the thing was, I had no idea why I was scared in the first place.

I took in the landscape a second time. I lifted my gaze toward the mountains and noticed a small light, gleaming out of what looked like a window from a large structure. I realized the structure on the mountain was a castle, but the darkness was so penetrating that it was difficult to tell if that's what it actually was. For some reason though I completely disregarded the sight and proceeded to walk forward, despite my fear. I had walked about two meters when the land begun to shake violently. Cracks began to form in the ground that quickly became crevasses as the land pulled apart. I attempted to run, but was quickly cut off by a large canyon that had opened us in front of me.

Just as quickly as it started, the quaking stopped. I spun around to see that the earthquake had caused the land to overlap itself, forming large cliffs and plateaus as far as the eye could see.

By this time, my body was shaking violently; I had absolutely no idea what was going on. My emerald eyes became wide as a foreboding, inky blackness began to spread over the sky, completely blocking out the sun and quickly seeping over the ground. As the darkness reached where I stood, the land vanished from underneath me. The next thing I knew, I was sinking into the darkness surrounding me. It felt as though there was a large weight on my chest. I couldn't breath. _Is this the end, _I thought to myself, _is this really what death feels like? This darkness, this overwhelming feeling of pain and loneliness? _With that, I closed my eyes and surrendered myself to the darkness.

I don't know for how long I fell, but the next thing I knew, a blinding light shone behind my eyelids and I was being lifted. As I opened my eyes, they were immediately assaulted by the harsh light. When my eyes became somewhat adjusted, I could just barely make out a pair of white wings and a set of the most brilliant blue eyes I'd ever seen. The sapphire orbs were far more dominating than the clearest sky or the deepest ocean. Yet, hidden in them was an incredible sadness and a deep sense of loneliness. There was nothing more I wanted to do at that moment than to reach out to this person, to show them that they weren't alone. I closed my eyes for just a moment, letting the light wash over me, but when I opened them again, the angel had vanished. The only change this time was that with the darkness did not come fear, but an intense sadness and anger. Sadness that my light was taken, and anger that my beautiful blue-eyed angel was taken as well. Suddenly, a sharp pain penetrated my abdomen, almost as though I'd been shot. With the pain also came a very loud and irritated voice. It took me a while to realize that this person was addressing me.

"Axel…Axel! AXEL!! Mr. Turk!" I opened my eyes and was immediately met my Literary professor (Sephiroth Miyano's) steely, teal eyes. He pulled away slightly revealing an extremely annoyed expression, his long silver hair flowing over his shoulders and onto my desk. His expression turned to a death glare. "Not only were you sleeping in my class, but you begun screaming and flailing your limbs. I had to ask Demyx and Riku to restrain you." I looked over to my right and saw a guilty looking Demyx with a sheepish grin spread across his face, and an apathetic Riku. "I do hope there will be no further interruptions." I turned my attention back to Mr. Miyano and found him rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, eyes tightly shut, as if he were trying to cleanse himself of the annoyed feeling.

"Y-yes, Mr. Miyano, sir," I stammered. I didn't like that guy; he looked like some sort of serial killer, or assassin.

"Very well. Let's return our attention back to class." He head back to the front of the classroom.

_So it was just a dream, _I sighed to myself. It had felt so real though.

"Hey man, you okay?" Demyx asked, light green eyes full of worry. The dirty blonde had been my best friend since middle school. Despite his laziness and his odd mullet/Mohawk hairdo he always sported, he was a really good guy. Always friendly and reliable, and far more of a brother to me than even my real brother, Reno.

Riku was my friend too, but not nearly as much so as Demyx. We hung out together, usually me, Demyx and Riku's little boy-toy, Sora. Demyx and Sora could've been brothers with the way they both act. They were both complete and utter spazzes, and were far too kind and considerate for their own good. Anyway, Riku was a cool kid, but the silver haired teen always had an air of mystery about him.

"Yeah. I'm fine," I lied. The truth was I was still a little shaky from that dream, but I couldn't let Demyx know, guys' too nice for his own good. He always took another's well being before his own.

"You sure," he prodded, "'cause if you wanna talk about it, I'm right here."

"Thanks Dem, but you know I'm not the type of guy that likes to talk about stuff." Demyx nodded then turned back to Mr. Miyano.

I didn't really pay attention to the rest of the class, too caught up in thinking about that dream. It wasn't really necessary for me to pay attention though. Even though I was a literary major, I had already published two best-selling novels and several other books. I'd received enough money that I was able to let my mom retire after Reno and I moved out, and also enough to by myself and my two roommates a really fancy apartment.

Once class was finished, Demyx and I packed up our things and headed home. The blonde skipped as we went along the sidewalks inside the campus. I kind of envied his ability to still have that much energy even after classes. Just then, Demyx and I heard footsteps jogging up behind us. We turned to see a short lilac haired, emo teen come sauntering up behind us. "Zexy!" Demyx yelled as he ran over and glomped the smaller man, nearly knocking him over. Zexion was Demyx's boyfriend and my other roommate. He was majoring in mythology, and not just Greek, I mean mythology in general. That's a lot to cover, and I respected him for taking that challenge. I met him my freshmen year of college, and thought he'd be a perfect match for Demyx, so I introduced them. They've been dating ever since. Zexion was basically the exact opposite of the mullhawk haired blonde. He was quiet and reserved, but very intelligent. His violet hair was always made so that it covered the right side of his face, and he was at least a foot shorter than me and Demyx, who were the same height.

"Hey Zex," I sighed as I watched Demyx lift him in the air and kiss him on the cheek. I was still worn out from my little episode earlier, and didn't have the energy to give a proper greeting.

"Hello Axel," Zexion replied as he was freed from the blonde's grip. We continued walking and Demyx chatted with Zexion about what happened in his classes. His main topic was that he had to write a composition in his music class and didn't get to play his sitar. Even though Demyx was in my literature class, he was a music major. The blonde was practically in love with his light blue sitar, 'Sasha'.

When we got to my apartment, I plopped myself down of the couch and flipped on the TV., watching nothing in particular. Dem and Zex retired to their room for, what I could only imagine, was for some much needed 'alone time'. I found out very soon that I was right, as I heard various grunts and moans coming from the room as well as the occasional, "Oh, Zexion…Zexion…harder!!" That was enough for me, thanks. I grabbed my keys and headed out the door.

After a quick stop by the nearby starbucks for a coffee, I headed off down the street. I did have an intended destination by the way; I wasn't just wandering the streets. After passing through a few alleyways, one in particular that was crammed with boxes that were stacked next to the dumpster, I came to a park. By this time the sun had almost set and was causing everything to glow various oranges and yellows. I finally came to my designated stop, a park bench sitting in between a couple of trees at the top of a very green hill. I sat down and watched as the beauty of the pinks and purples and oranges from the setting sun were replaced by stars and streetlights. Twilight town was truly beautiful at night. I contemplated the universe for a while. I wasn't really thinking of anything in particular, just random things that popped in my head. After about two or three hours, I decided to head home. I returned to find a sleeping Demyx and Zexion snuggled up together on the couch, the TV. flashed the ending credits to some movie. I switched off the large flat-screen and headed to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

That night, I had the same dream as the one in class. There were a few changes, however. After the earthquake ceased, the sky became covered by the same inky blackness as before, only this time, the land was left undefiled. Only a large crater appeared in the ground in front of me, filled with the same sinister darkness that darkened the sky. Ever so slowly, a large black, almost wolf-like creature appeared before me, its black fangs barred, glistening in the non-existent light. Its eyes glowed crimson and a horrible snarl ripped through its chest. I closed my eyes and braced myself as the creature launched itself at me. However, when I opened my eyes, the dark creature had been replaced by two beings poised for battle. Both were clad in armor, wielding swords, and magnificent wings spread from their backs. I could see no detail of either one, only their silhouettes. One was completely shrouded in darkness, and the other by blinding light. Both beings charged each other and began slashing away with their swords. They were very skilled and very evenly matched. Neither opponent was making any progress, so they took their battle to the sky. They swerved and dodged when the other swung at them. Their battle took up the whole sky. The light angel was faster, but the dark one was a better fighter. With one swing he opened a large gash in the light angel's chest. Blood flowed as the angel fell to the earth and slammed into the ground. The dark angel stood victoriously over its fallen opponent and then sheathed his sword through the other's chest, piercing its heart. Darkness had defeated the light and a sudden wave of despair and hopelessness crashed over my body. Once again, everything became shrouded in darkness and I felt myself falling. This time, my blue-eyed angel did not come for me, and I continued falling until I awoke the next morning.

Shaking off the dream, I took a quick shower and styled my fiery red hair into their usual spikes. I then put on a pair of black jeans with tears strategically cut along the outside of the thigh revealing red fabric underneath, and a white T-shirt with the words 'Linkin Park' written across the chest in dark red letters. Lastly, I threw on a black jacket and headed down stairs.

I was met with the strong scent of pancakes, eggs and sausage. When I got to the kitchen, I found Zexion sitting at the table, reading the newspaper, and Demyx standing over the stove wearing his pink apron. "Hey sleepy head!" The blonde chirped and handed me a plate. I took it and started piling on pancakes, eggs and sausages. "Hey Axel," Demyx bounced over to where I sat at the table, "Me and Zexy are gonna go to the mall today, wanna come?" Demyx put on his best hopeful, puppy dog expression and smiled. It was a weekend, and Demyx always tried to get me to do something with him and Zexion on the weekends. Rarely ever have I gotten my way. The blonde can be very persuasive, especially when he clings to your leg and shouts, "Please, please, please, please, PLEASE!!!!!"

"Maybe," I replied apathetically, sticking a chunk of pancake in my mouth. "I still gotta come up with an idea for my next book. My editors are starting to annoy the crap outta me." The blonde pouted and the sight made Zexion giggle a bit.

"Come on Axel," the lilac haired male prodded, "You just finished your last book, during which we only ever saw you in class. I think you should take a break from your book for now and join us." The hopeful puppy look reappeared on Demyx's face and he nodded vigorously.

_I guess it couldn't hurt._

The day consisted of Demyx dragging Zexion and I through the mall. Having made the misteak of allowing Demyx to go to the candy store first, we were forced to deal with the sugar crazed blonde as he practically bounced off the walls. Luckily, Zexion had brought a yo-yo and that was enough to entertain Demyx for almost two hours. He's a pretty smart guy, a little weird, but smart. By the time we were done, the sun had begun to set. Demyx and Zexion had decided to go out for dinner.

"Don't you wanna come?" The blonde asked as he and Zexion held hands, turning to head down the street that led to the restaurant.

"Nah," I gave a phony smile, "Gotta get back to work on that book."

"Kay. Night Ax."

With that, we went our separate ways. I'll admit, I wasn't intending to go straight home; I wanted to stop by my favorite spot at the park first. I walked along the darkened streets, and weaved through a couple of alleyways. By this time the sun had set and not a single soul walked the streets other than me. I crossed the street and approached the alley that had been stacked with boxes. I was about half way down the block, when suddenly a loud crash echoed from the alley. It had sounded like something big had been thrown either at or into the dumpster, and the tower of boxes had been toppled over.

I quickly darted over to the entrance of the alleyway, and as I had suspected, boxes were strewn all over on the other side of the dumpster. Cautiously, I approached the front of the large garbage container, not really wanting to get closer to the stack of boxes. I jumped when something shifted under the pile of cardboard. I began to clear away the boxes very slowly, just in case there was some sort of animal in there that would attack me. What I saw next made my heart stop.

There was a small boy, about sixteen or seventeen with spiky blonde hair, completely coated in blood underneath the boxes. I franticly cleared away the rest of the cardboard, then knelt down and carefully scooped the small blonde into my arms and leaned his head against my chest. He was trembling and taking quick, shallow breaths. Blood stained the part of his hair by his forehead and ran down the side of his face as well as from his mouth. His eye and right cheek were swollen and bruised. There were numerous cuts and gashes across his torso and midsection, and blood gushed from, what appeared to be a hole in his abdomen from where he might have been shot.

I hurriedly retrieved my cell phone from my jacket pocket and dialed 911. Once I made the call, I balanced the blonde on my lap and chest, and tore off my jacket. I tied it around his abdomen, creating a sort of makeshift tourniquet. I then took the bottom part of my shirt and began to clean the blood from his face. He was fading fast. His breathing became more like forced gasps than actual breaths. At that moment, I really thought this kid was literally going to die in my arms. I don't know why, but something told me that I, absolutely, under any circumstances make sure that this kid survived.

The ambulance showed up a few minutes after the call. They took him from my arms and threw him onto a stretcher, placing an oxygen mask over his face. As they loaded him up, I felt a sudden urge to jump in the ambulance and ride with him to the hospital. So, I acted on impulse and hopped in the back. The only thing going through my mind was _Please be okay_.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The ride to the hospital lasted only for a few short minutes, but it had seemed to me like hours. When we arrived, the small blonde was immediately taken to the O.R, and I was told to sit in the waiting room.

I hated hospitals. There were sick people everywhere, and the white walls reminded me of a mental institute. However, the only thing on my mind now was if that kid was going to live. The image of the poor blonde's body had engraved itself into my brain. I needed something to get my mind off of things.

With shaky hands, I managed to retrieve my phone. I looked at the screen so I could see the numbers and noticed that my hands were covered in blood. _I should probably wash my hands. _Not wanting to gross the people next to me out, I shut my phone and made my way to the men's room. Luckily no one was there. I dialed Demyx's cell as I made my way over to the sink. When I saw my reflection in the mirror I was met with a rather horrific sight. There were huge bloodstains all over my shirt and pants. I looked like some sort of butcher that just slaughtered a cow. Demyx answered after the first couple of rings. "Hey man, where are you?! Me and Zexy got home and you were no where to be found!" the blonde yelled in a very worried tone.

"H-hey, Dem, I-I'm at the h-hospital," my voice was painfully shaky.

"Oh My God, man, what happened?! Are you okay?! Are you hurt?! What's-"

"It's okay, I'm fine!" I cut him off, "I-I was on my way home when I found this kid. He was lying in an alley underneath a bunch of boxes, he was hurt really badly. I-I tried to help him, Dem, I really did, but there was so much blood. I-" It was Demyx's turn to cut me off.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. Are you alright? You sound like you're crying," Demyx soothed, his voice was much softer than before. I looked in the mirror again and noticed that I was crying. I don't cry! I never cry! It astounded me how much this one kid was affecting me. Using my sleeve, I quickly wiped the tears from my face. "Axel? You still there?" Demyx's voice snapped me out of my trance-like state.

"Yeah, I'm still here."

"Hang on bud, me and Zexy'll be down in about fifteen minutes." I could hear the car keys jingle in the background.

"No, it's okay. I think I'll stay here for a couple more hours. I'll call you when I'm done."

"You sure?"

I had to think about my answer for a minute before replying, "Yeah, I really gotta know if he's okay."

"Kay. You just call when you're ready to go."

"Thanks Dem. Bye." I shut my phone and headed back into the waiting room.

It was around 11:30 when I decided to ask the receptionist if there was anything she could tell me about the little blonde. "Excuse me," I asked politely as I approached the front desk.

"May I help you, sir?" the receptionist asked as she turned around. She had long reddish brown hair that had been tied back in a braid with a pink ribbon. The nametag on her uniform read 'Aerith'. Her tone was soft, and she had a smile that could give cavities.

"Um, yeah," I answered a little nervously, scratching the back of my head, "I was wondering about the little blonde kid who came in a few hours ago."

She smiled. "Oh, that boy! Are you a friend or family member?" the red head asked as she began rummaging through a stack of papers.

"Actually, I was the one who found him and called the ambulance."

"Oh," a look of shock came over her face, then was immediately replaced with the sweet smile she had before. "I'm sorry, it's just that the strangers that usually phone in the emergency don't normally come to the hospital, let alone stay for hours just to see if the person's okay. You are a very kind and considerate man." She went back to rummaging through the stack of papers. "Here, let me see if I can find his file." After another minute or so, she exclaimed, "Aha! Here it is. It says here that he was in critical condition and immediately taken to the operating room for surgery due to a gun-shot wound to the abdomen and massive internal and external bleeding." The look of shock appeared once again, but quickly faded as she continued, "Ah, but it also says that the surgery was a success, and that he is in stable condition, and should make a full recovery." I gave a sigh of relief and she smiled at me.

"So… can I see him or…," I asked sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, but at the time, only family members would be allowed in. However you could come in tomorrow."

"Oh, okay." That was a little disappointing, but also a big relief. At least now I knew that the kid was okay. "Well, if you could," I said, grabbing a piece of paper and a pen, "can you call me as soon as I can see him, o-or if something happens?" I wrote my cell number on the paper and handed it to her.

"Of course, sir. I'll call you as soon as I get any information." With that, I called Demyx and asked him to come get me.

After being bombarded with questions from both Demyx and Zexion, (mainly Demyx) I went to my room and fell asleep rather quickly. Although that wasn't surprising, seeing as I was exhausted from all the events that played out today.

I had that dream again, only this time there was yet another change. After the battle, when I was hurled back into the darkness, my angel appeared before me once again. However, the light that had engulfed him before had faded, and was replaced by a thin coating of blood. Unconscious, the small angel fell along side me in the black void. His body was completely limp and his wings hung loosely as he fell. I don't know for how long we fell through the darkness, but the next thing I knew I was being awoken buy Demyx. "Axel. Aaaxxxellll," He whispered and poked my in the arm.

"What?" I whined and swatted his hand away, burying my face in my pillow.

"Your phone rang. The caller ID said it was from the hospital you went to yesterday. I didn't answer it, but they left you a message." I sprang from my bed, nearly knocking the blonde off his feet.

"Where's my phone?!"

"Err, in the kitchen?"

I flew past the mullhawked teen and ran downstairs, almost colliding with Zexion. The lilac haired male had been reading while walking up stairs. If he hadn't of jumped out of the way when he did, we probably would have joined the kid in the hospital.

_I'll have to apologies to him later, _I made a mental note for later. I discovered my cell phone sitting on the kitchen counter, the words 'one missed call' flashed on the screen. Scrolling through my options, I went through my messages and opened up my most recent message. "Hello, this is Aerith from the hospital. He's been doing very well and the doctors say that he's ready for visitors, so you can come whenever. I'm looking forward to your visit." As the message ended, I turned to see a very confused Demyx and a very angry and ruffled Zexion.

"What did they say?" the mullhawk haired male asked. I dashed past them and up the stairs into my room.

"I'm gonna go see that kid from yesterday at the hospital!" I shouted down the stairs while trying to find some decent attire. Once I found something suitable to wear, I headed down stairs and found Demyx making waffles and Zexion reading the newspaper, like always. I grabbed the keys to my motorcycle and snagged a waffle out of Demyx's hands, causing the blonde to pout.

"I've never seen you take this much interest in someone before," Zexion stated, not bothering to look up from his newspaper. "Do you even know this child's name?"

"Nope," I said through a mouthful of waffle and headed toward the door. "but I hope to learn that today." With that, I hopped on my jet-black crotch-rocket and took off toward the hospital.

Of course Aerith was there, going through another stack of papers. She noticed me and gave me that candy coated smile of hers. "Good morning."

I smiled and waved. "Good morning to you too. It's nice to see you again." I leaned partially over the front desk, "So, how is he?"

"He actually woke up about an hour ago, but almost immediately fell back asleep. If you want, you can go see him now, but I doubt he'll be awake."

"That's okay."

She pointed me in the direction of the blonde's room. Geez, this place was like a freakin' labyrinth!! It must've taken me like ten minutes to find his room. After I finally found it, I slowly turned the knob and opened the door, trying not to wake him if he was still asleep. When I walked in, the little blonde was lying on the bed. An oxygen mask was strapped to his face and various tubes and wires were stuck to his body. They had cleaned all of the blood off of his face, and as I approached, I was surprised to see how beautiful he was. His face looked so peaceful and innocent. The color of his skin was pale, almost like porcelain, and his eyelashes barely graced his cheeks as he lay sleeping. His beautiful, golden hair almost sparkled in the sunlight, and I was able to see a few traces of honey and strawberry in some of the strands. He was absolutely gorgeous!

For about 15 minutes, I sat by his bedside and watched him sleep. He hardly moved. The only indication he was still alive was the steady beeping of the heart monitor and the slight movement of his chest underneath the blanket. I was so lost in watching the kid that it startled me when my phone rang in my pocket. I quickly lowered the volume and checked to see if the noise had disturbed the blonde's sleep before whispering, "Hello?"

"'Sup buddy?" Demyx chirped on the other end. "How's the little guy doin'?"

The small blonde stirred slightly in his bed.

"Hold on, I think he's waking up."

"Awesome, me and Zexy'll be right over!" Demyx squealed.

"Wait a minute! Dem!" but he had already hung up. I sighed, shut my phone, then rubbed the bridge of my nose in annoyance. Demyx had a tendency to become overly excited, and I figured that the only thing he'd do if he came now is give the poor kid a heart attack.

I heard a small shuffle and a quiet moan, so I turned my attention back to the small blonde. His eyelids fluttered for a few seconds before opening fully and revealing brilliant sparkling cerulean orbs. I couldn't help but let out a small gasp at the sight of his beautiful blue eyes. They looked exactly like the angel's from my dream, only the sadness and fear had been replaced by confusion and curiosity. "Hey there sleepy-head," I somewhat cooed as I shifted my position in the chair, "You feelin' any better?" He continued to stare for a moment before slightly nodding his head. He was SO adorable!! He reminded me of a small puppy the way his big blue eyes stared with an inate curiosity to the world around him, like he was seeing the world for the first time. Suddenly, the realization hit me. I was a complete stranger to this kid. I mean, if it were me, I'd be a little weirded out too if I woke up to find some random guy I didn't know sitting next to my bed talking to me. So, I decided that the best thing to do now was to introduce myself. "Sorry, my name's Axel. I'm the person who found you and called the hospital." I then proceeded to stick out my hand and offer it to him as a polite gesture. He in turn, took my hand in his own and shook it. I couldn't help but notice how soft his hands were.

Wait a minute. Why the hell am I noticing all these little things about him? I didn't even know the kid for cryin' out loud!!! The only reason I had friends was because THEY took an interest in ME, not the other way around. This was an entirely new experience for me.

He blushed a little as he pulled his hand back. I giggled inwardly at the blonde's shyness. "Well, now that you know my name, how 'bout tellin' me yours?"

He sat there for a moment, almost contemplating on whether or not he should even tell me. "Roxas," he finally answered in a low, almost inaudible voice.

I know I've been saying things like this a lot lately, but his voice was simply amazing, almost angelic, despite the subtle rhaspyness, probable from lack of water for like fourteen hours.

"Well Roxas," I grunted, slapping my hands on my knees and pushing myself out of the chair, "how about I go downstairs and get us something to eat?" As I turned to leave, I felt something grab my sleeve. I glanced down and was met by two big blue eyes that were almost pleading. "Don't worry, I'll be right back." Hesitantly, the blonde released his grip and retuned to lying down on the bed, pouting. He really was adorable.

(Roxas POV)

I couldn't help but feel a small twinge of loneliness as the red head walked out the door. It was true that I had only just met him, but so far Axel was the only person I knew, and he seemed trustworthy. After all, he was the one that saved me, even if his help did force me to stay in this strange place, hooked up to these odd machines.

Axel's presence had seemed to fill the room with some sort of air of calm to the room. Everything just seemed lighter when he was here. I felt myself wishing for him to return more and more with each second that passed. That, and, while I was alone, I ran the risk of being found and possibly killed. I needed to have others around me to mask my energy, of they would track me down and take me back to that god forsaken hell.

(Axel POV)

When I returned to the room, carefully balancing a plate of food and a water bottle in my arms, I found Roxas staring out the window.

"Hey, I got food." My voice startled the blonde, but he immediately perked up when he saw it was me. I sauntered over and sat the tray of food down on the table next to his bed and handed him the water bottle.

"Thank you," he whispered as he took the water bottle from my hands. He seemed to have a little figuring out how to open it, but once he got it, he quickly guzzled it down.

We didn't talk much while he ate, I just asked him a couple of yes or no questions like if he liked the food or not. I noticed that he was still in some pain. Every once in a while, he'd cradle his stomach where he'd been shot. I'd ask if he was okay, but he'd just nod and continue eating. Once he was finished, we sat and talked for a couple of minutes, asking each other questions back and fourth. Nothing complicated, just things like, 'what's your favorite color,' or 'what are your hobbies'. It had just come to my turn when our silence was shattered.

Demyx came bursting through the door, nearly giving Roxas a heart attack, (see, I told you that would happen) took one look at him and shouted, "Oh my god, *gasp* you poor thing!" He wrapped his arms around his head and shoved the kid's face against his chest.

"How could someone hurt something THIS adorable?!" Demyx was practically strangling the poor kid. Thankfully, the cavalry had arrived.

Zexion casually strolled through the door and said in a calm voice, "Demyx, I think you may be suffocating the poor child." The mullhawked male immediately released his grip on the small blonde.

"Oops, sorry." Roxas back and fourth. He looked like he'd just gotten off a roller coaster. However, he shook it off and gave a little smile to the dirty blonde, who returned it with a goofy grin of his own.

"Hello there," Zexion said as he sauntered over and took a seat in a nearby chair. "My name is Zexion and this overly excitable man here is Demyx." Demyx grinned and waved.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Roxas Strife." I never knew someone could be so polite. His parents must've been like really proper or something.

"YOU'RE SO CUTE!!!" Demyx squealed as he embraced the blonde's head yet again. He then put his hands on the little blonde's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. Then, with a very serious tone, he asked, "Would you mind if I called you muffin?"

"Not at all," Roxas replied. The larger blonde squealed, gave him a quick hug, then skipped over to Zexion and took a seat on his lap. Surprisingly, this didn't seem to bother the lilac haired man much.

"So," I asked, genuinely curious, "have your parents or siblings come to visit you yet?" From what he told me earlier, he had two brothers, a twin and an older brother. But that was all he said.

At this, the blonde's expression saddened. "No," he replied in a low voice, "I don't have parents. They were killed a long time ago, and my brothers and I don't really get along." I sat speechless. There was nothing I could say to that.

"Oh, my poor little muffin!" Demyx ran over and embraced Roxas, who obviously wasn't prepared for his reaction.

"It's okay," Roxas stated, now aware at how his earlier statement had affected everyone, "they've been gone for a while. I've accepted it." He smiled and patted Demyx on the back.

I had a hard time believing that. No one loses their parents and just 'gets over it'.

"So where are you going to stay after you get out of here?" Zexion asked. Roxas paused for a moment and stared off into space.

"I-I guess, I don't have anywhere to go," he finally whispered.

"Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. "Hey Roxas. This is probably gonna sound weird, but, since you got nowhere to go, why don't you come stay with us?"

The small blonde looked shocked. "N-no, I-I-I couldn't. I wouldn't want to trouble you."

"I know the idea of movin' in with three strange guys is probably a little weird, but you'd be no trouble at all. We got plenty of room, and I'm sure Dem and Zex would like it if you stayed."

Demyx began bouncing up and down like a giddy school girl, "OF COURSE I'd love it if muffin stayed! Me and Zexy both!" Zexion simply nodded in agreement.

"Besides," I added, "I don't think we'd be able to sleep at night knowin' you were out wanderin' the streets by yourself."

He thought about it for a moment, but I could tell that he was happy someone was thinking of his well being. "Well… If it's alright with you. I don't want to trouble you in any way."

"Like I said, no trouble at all."

Demyx's goofy grin returned. He clapped his hands together and chirped, "So it's settled. Muffin's gonna come stay with us!"

(Roxas POV)

I really didn't want to burden them. They all seemed like such nice people, even the quiet one, Zexion. But it was true. I didn't have anywhere to go, and if I stayed by myself, they'll find me. However, staying with them also put them at risk of being attacked. I guess as long as everything remains quiet, everyone should be fine. Plus, I did want to get to know Axel a little more.

He confounded me. Axel was a truly beautiful man. His tall, lanky form was so elegant. I've never seen a human move with such grace. I also loved his crimson hair, and the way the markings under his eyes seemed to jump whenever he smiled. Even though I just met him, I found myself thinking about him all the time.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

(Axel POV)

Over the next week, I went to the hospital every day after classes. Demyx and Zexion occasionally accompanied me. I had to take me work with me when I went though. It made me happy when Roxas became interested in the book I was writing. I had finally come up with a topic and told him he could read it when I was finished if he wanted.

I didn't press the issue about his parents any further, but I did ask him about his brothers a couple of times. He reacted the same way as before, but simply said they didn't get along and they lived far away. After that, he didn't want to talk about that subject any more.

I loaned him a couple of my books so he could read them while I was at school. Each book only took him a couple of days to read, and when he was done he always flattered me with all kinds of comments. Not in an ass kissing sort of way, but in a way that showed he really enjoyed what he read.

It was a Wednesday, and I was in Mr. Miyano's class 'writing' an essay. Like I said before, I don't know why I even bother coming to school. I already have a pretty successful career as a writer. Why did I have to write some stupid essay that doesn't help me in any way, shape, or form? Anyway, I was a little fidgety because Roxas was being released from the hospital today. I was really anxious to get him out of that looney bin and into a real home and eat some real food. The kid had really grown on me the past couple of weeks.

Class seemed to drag on forever, but when it was finally over, Demyx, Zexion and I hurried back to the apartment and took Demyx's black Maserati Quattroporte. I was fairly certain he'd be more comforatable ina car that on the back seat of a motorcycle.

When we arrived, Roxas was waiting in the front desk area with Aerith. We signed him out and he immediately bolted out the doors, probably relieved to be out of that palce. H seemed strangely nervous when we were getting in the car. It was almost like he'd never seen one before, and was very hesitant to get in. On the way home, he stared out the window with a fascinated expression on his face asking constantly, "What's that?" when he saw things like buildings and cars and cell phones. The kid's seventeen, you'd think he'd know what a cell phone was by now. Regardless, his childlike curiosity only made me smile. By the time we reached the appartment, he was asking about technology in general. It was mostly stuff I couldn't answer like what the internet was and how it worked. It was like he'd been living under a rock for the past century.

(Roxas POV)

Everything around me was so new and strange. The pieces of technology I witnessed were very unusual, mainly the device known as a 'cell phone'. Axel let me see his, and I asked him questions about it, but I could not, for the life of me, figure out how pressing a few buttons would let you communicate with someone on the other side of the world. I was also intregued by their modes of transportation, but was just as confused about that explanation as I had been about the others. I had thought that once we reached Axel's home, I'd be able to focus on one thing. However, when I walked through the door, I was flooded with new technology. It was too much for me to handle. For now, all I wanted to do was eat and rest, which was basically all I did.

Axel gave me the room next to his. He showed me where everything was located if I required it, and told me that he would take me to purchase new attire tomorrow after he finished his studies.

The red head bid me goodnight and left me to my thoughts. However, I was plagued with having to think of ways to explain to Axel about my situation. I didn't want to push the red head away, but I didn't want to lie to him either. If I kept it from him, sooner or later, he was going to catch on with my lack of knowledge about modern technology. Finally, I decided that tomorrow night I would confront him alone and show him. If he accepted me, fine. If he rejected me, I would be forced to face my situation alone. I just hoped that he woud be able to accept me for who I was and not reject me for what I was.

(Axel POV)

After classes, I went home to get Roxas and found him messing with the toaster. When I asked him what he was doing, he asked, 'what is this device used for', so I demonstrated using a piece of bread. His reaction to the toast was complete and utter amazement. It was especially cute when he jumped as the toast popped. He must've leapt like a foot in the air, and then hid behind me like it was going to hurt him or something.

After the little demonstration, we proceeded to go to the mall. The little blonde was nervous at first, so I picked out his first few outfits. Once he became more comforatable, he began picking out clothes hiself. He was particullarly fond of dress shirts and pants, but I didn't question it. The clothes actually made the little guy look pretty stylish. Nearing the end of our trip though, I noticed he stopped looking me in the eyes. It was kind of like a child who thinks their parents are angry at them. Every time he noticed me looking at him, he would glace up at me, but then quickly look away.

On our way back we stopped by a resteraunt for dinner. Most of the time was filled with awkward silence. After a few minutes, Roxas finially spoke up. "Hey Axel." I looked up. There was a large chunk of steak in my mouth, making my cheeks bulge. "when we get back to the appartment, could I talk to you about something?"

After managing to swallow the the food in my mouth, I cocked my head to the side, brows furrowed, "Sure. Is something bothering you?"

His eyes fell to the floor, "Somewhat. I'll tell you about it later."

After that, the tension in the air seemed to lift. We talked for a bit while we finished our food. I noticed he was very proper about the way he ate. He neatly placed the napkin on his lap and held his silverware European style. I have no idea why I was noticing all these little things, but I was.

Walking back to the appartment, I decided to take another route. I knew Roxas wouldn't protest, because he still didn't really know the way back. We weaved in and out of alleyways until we reached our destination, the park. I led him over to my favorite bench and plopped myself down.

"Wait, I thought we were going back to the appartment." The blonde inquired as he took a seat next to me.

"I wanted to show you my favorite spot in town," I gestured toward the city. The lights from the streets sparkled in the darkness, happily coexisting with the stars in the sky.

"It's beautiful," he gasped as he stared wide-eyed at the scenery. His azure eyes sparkled with the lights reflected from the town.

"Ain't it though?"

Even though the scenery was indeed beautiful, I couldn't take my eyes off of the small blonde sitting next to me. He was the only scenery I needed. Suddenly, saphire eyes met emerald and he quickly turned away, a large blush spread across his face. I couldn't help but laugh at this, he was just so adorible. What happened next was a violation of everything I stood for. I placed my thumb and index finger under his chin and tilted his head up so he faced me. I then leaned down and, ever so gently, captured his lips in my own.

Realizing what I had just done, I quickly retreated out of the kiss and started to completely freak! "Oh my god, I am SO sorry! Iv'e never done something like that before! I'm not normally like that! I hope you don't think I'm some sort of creep now! Oh, you probably think I am don't you?! I'd totally understand if you just started avoiding me!" However, somewhere amidst my rambling, Roxas leaned over next to me and cupped his hand to my face, successfully snapping me out of my rant. He gently pulled my head down so our eyes met, and pressed his lips to my own. After a moment of shock, I returned the kiss. It was very innocent, but enough for me to feel an overwhelmingly strong sensation flow through me. I was the happiest I've been in a long time. Very slowly, we pulled back from the kiss and looked at each other.

"I think we shoud go home now," Roxas said very softly. I might not have heard him if he hadn't been so close.

"Yeah," was all I could manage. We picked up the bags and proceeded to walk home.

When we stepped through the door, we were greeted by an overly excited Demyx. "How was you guys' shopping trip? Zexy! Muffin and Axel are home!" The tall blonde ran over and glomped Roxas. He immediately protested with a sharp hiss of pain as he clutched his side. Demyx quickly pulled away, a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry. I forgot you were still broken." The small blonde managed to open an eye and smile as he nodded in forgivness. Demyx and I helped him off the floor and walked to the couch where we spotted Zexion. The violet haired male glanced upward slightly from the book he was reading in acknowledgement. The tall blonde skipped over and snuggled next to his boyfriend, turning on the T.V.

"Hey Axel," I looked down in acknowledgement, "I have to talk to you."

"Oh, right!" I suddenly remembered his request from back at the resteraunt.

We both began to head upstairs toward my room. "Hey. Where're you guys goin'?!" Demyx called from the couch.

"We'll be right back!" I called back down.

We stepped into the room and I closed the door. The lights were off, but he moon shone so brightly through the window that they were hardly nesecary.

"So?" I asked, strolling to the side of the bed where Roxas was sitting and took a seat next to him. "You wanted to talk?"

The small blonde was hesitant for a moment before he finally spoke. "If I'm going to stay here," Roxas stood and began pacing in front of me, keeping his eyes on the floor, "You need to know a few things about me. I would greatly appreciate if you head what I had to say first, and held all questions or comments until the end." I simply nodded in response.

(Roxas POV)

I was far too nervous for this. My heart was racing and I could feel myself breaking into a sweat.. I felt Axel's eyes watching me as I paced about the room. Pacing helped me think, and right now I needed to think of a way to explain myself to Axel without him responding in a negative mannor.

"I guess… I should start with my parents." Axel appeared to be a little shocked, but nodded in response. "When I was around fouteen, I was returning home from the school house. My parents were wealthy and very respected members of the society, so our house was fairly large and I was able to go to a private school. Our family owned horses and I had decided to take a quick detour to the stables instead of going straight home, to see my twin brother, Ventus. He was a very nice person when we were younger. We would always play together and ride on the trails on our property after school." Axel looked as though he was about to ask something, but decided against it. I was grateful for his silence. "That day, however, when I approached the stables, his horse was still in its stall. I had thought maybe he was doing some work inside, so I went to the house. But when I got there, there was no one around. I searched for a while and still was unable to locate anyone. Finally, I went into the basement, and when I got there, I found Ven, my loder brother Vanitas and a fried of his, Terra. All three were drenched in blood, and Ventus was wielding an axe that was also dripping in blood. I looked behind them and found my parents, Ven had killed them with his own two hands. When I tried to run, they beat me until I fell unconcious. For two years they kept me as their slave, until one day I tried to escape. Ven and Terra captured me. They beat me, then took their knives and began slashing gaping wounds all over my body. Vanitas finished the job. He took a musket and attempted to shoot me in the heart, but missed and ended up shooting me here instead." I lifted my shirt and guestured to the stitches across my abdomen. "Weapons back then weren't very accurate. After he shot me, they left me there to die. I spent nearly two hours on the floor before bleeding to death. "That was nearly two hundred years ago."

Axel appeared to be both shocked and on the verge of tears. I walked over and sat next to him. "You do believe me… don't you?" The red head smiled and chuckled, letting his head hang on his chest. _No, don't tell me he doesn't. _My gaxe dropped to the floor. I couldn't believe it. I thought for certain he'd belive me.

"Well," the red head sighed, "It sounds plausible to me. You always talk like you're from a different time, and you're not exactly an expert when it come to technology."

"So you believe me then?!" I asked hopefully.

"I don't have a reason not to."

I could feel the smile spread across my face as I ran over and embraced the red head. "Thank you," I sobbed, burying my face in his warm, toned chest.

"One thing I don't understand though," Axel said sofly, resting his chin on the top of my head, "I fthat was two hundred years ago, how are you here now?"

"Oh, right," I sighed, pulling away from Axel, "I wasn't finished explaining." Axel took his seat back on the bed, pulling me with him. I sat on his lap and laid my head against his chest. Again, he placed his chin on the top of my head, and I continued speaking.

"After my death, I became a Tenshi, or as you mortals refer to us, an angel."

"You mean like with wings and a halo?" I could tell by the sound of his voice he was shocked.

I couldn't help but giggle at the second part of his question, even though it was perfectly valid. "I don't have a halo, but I did have wings," I said softly. "If you'd like, I could show."

Axel lifted his head and we looked at each other. "Seriously, like right now?" I nodded. "Show me!" I hopped off of his lap and turned to face him. I still didn't know how he would react. He may have seemed accepting, but there was no telling if my actions could still push him over the edge.

I guessed he must have sensed my hesitation, because he smiled and said, "Hey, I'm the one who asked to see. I'm not going to judge you." That was enough to reassure me. I took a deep breath and…

(Axel POV)

Okay, I admit it. What he told me was pretty difficult to believe. I mean, hey, anyone would question someone's sanity if they told you they were an angel. However, I wanted to belive his word, so if he was willing to prove it, I wan't going to stop him. But what I saw next destroyed any hint of doubt that still remained.

He took a deep breath, hung his head on his chest, and slowly began to raise his arms until they were at shoulder height. Then, suddenly, a large snow white wing spread from his right shoulder blade. I was completely speachless. He exhaled slowly, and listlessly raised his eyelids exposing his brilliant saphire eyes. Lowering his arms, he turned his head to observed the shimmering appendige as if to make sure he actually did it. The blonde turned his attention back to me and asked, "Are you alright? You look surprised."

I hadn't noticed my mouth was hanging open 'till he said that. Quickly snapping my mouth shut I responded, "It's just that you look exactly like the angel from my dream. I thought it was just a coincidence, but I see now."

The blonde cocked his head to the side and folded his wing against his back. "What do you mean?"

"Before I met you, I had a dream that I was lost in darkness and then was saved by an angel with white wings and blue eyes. I think it was you."

"I see," was his response.

"But in my dream, you had two wings. Did something happen to the other one?" I stood and wrapped my arms around his back, pulling him close.

"Yes," I heard him half giggle, half sob.

"You okay?" I cooed, burying my face in his soft spikes. I could feel the warm tears stain my shirt. I repositioned my left hand from behind his back to the back of his head, pushing him closer to my chest.

"Yes, I'm okay. I'm just glad I won't have to lose you."

We stood in silence for a few minuted. I massaged my hand up and down his back, tryin to comfort him. The feathers from his wing were so soft. I took his chin in my hand and tilted his head up so that his eyes met mine. Then I smiled and said in a low voice, "You never finished your story."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Humans become Tenshi when they die, but only if they had strong spirits while alive," Roxas continued in a low voice, snuggling up to my chest.

We had returned to our spot on the bed. My blonde curled up on my lap, his wing was wrapped around us. It felt nice, the feathers were soft and it was warm.

"When I became a Tenshi I was sent to a place much like the one in your dream. I was given a sword and the power over light. They told me that I had to keep these evil creatures called 'Akukage' out of the human world. The Akukage fed on humans, and every human they devoured made them exponentially stronger, so keeping them out of the human world was a top priority. If they did get to the human world, however, some Tenshi were sent to the human world in order to kill them. They were taught how to cross the border while still keeping all of their powers intact. I never found any reason to return to the human world, so I never learned.

I spent about five years in the Dark Realm killing Akukage, and living with other Tenshi, until one day I was plunged back into my living hell. I found out that my brothers and Terra had been killed by a group of men they had owed money to. All three became very powerful Tenshi, and when they found me, I became their slave once again. All my friends who tried to save me were either killed or wounded, and all my attempts to escape were futile.

Vanitas had power over darkness, and with it gained power to control the Akukage. He realized that releasing the Akukage into the human world and letting them devour people would make them stronger. Using that fact, he created a very powerful army, and also used them to memorize my scent so he could find me if I were to somehow escape. I guess he had some master plan that required both me and the Akukage, that's why he never killed me, even though there were so many times he could have."

"Wait," I clarified, "If you were already…dead," I didn't want to say that last word, "How can you be killed?"

Roxas sighed. "After we die the first time, we're basically reborn into a brand new body, heart, blood, everything. It's just that a Tenshi's body is stronger than a human's. If we die in our Tenshi form, then we die for good, our spirits pass on."

"Okay, I see."

The blonde became silent for a moment, then whispered, "There have been so many times that I've wished for death, longed for it so that I could finally be free." That came as something of a shock to me, but then again, if I went through what he did I don't think I'd want to live either. "Especially, the night when I came here."

"What do you mean?" I asked, gently rubbing his back while I held him.

"You wanted to know how I lost this wing, right?" I nodded. "The night I came here, I had planned on escaping. Vanitas found out, so he wanted to show me how he wasn't going to allow that to happen. He took me into the room he used to torture me, and then he beat me until I was near death. Not satisfied with that, he took my left wing and ripped it from my body with his bare hands. If I hadn't run when I had, I'm positive he would have done it again."

"I'm so sorry," I whispered as I pulled him close and fan my fingers through his soft spikes. I just couldn't believe that someone could be so corrupted as to do that to their own brother. Not only did he torture and brutally murder him, he continued to torture him after death. The thought of someone doing that to anyone, especially my little blonde, just made me want to vomit.

"After I escaped, I wound up in an almost human body that had taken the form of my last memory of being alive. I was inexperienced and that caused my recent wounds to be replaced with the ones I had received from the night of my death. The pain was horribly intense, but the only thing running through my mind was that I was going to die and return to the Dark Realm. Since I was unable to move, there was nothing more I could do than to wait for death to come. That was when you found me." The small blonde huddled close to my body; I could feel his small hands clutching my shirt. "You saved my life Axel. Thank you," he whispered.

The room was silent for a while. All I wanted to do was hold him and try to comfort him. I knew there was far more to the story that he didn't want to tell me, things he knew would upset me if he did. So I didn't ask. I could feel the warmth of his body, his soft hair, his steady breathing, the beating of his heart. Nothing on earth would ever tear me from him; I wouldn't let anything or anyone take him. It was then that sudden realization hit me.

"Do you think that they'll be able to find you?" I asked in a low, serious tone. "You said they memorized your scent."

"I'll be fine as long as I'm close to someone."

"How so?"

"Humans' scent is powerful. It's strong enough to mask ours. The only time I'm at risk is if I'm alone for long periods of time."

"That's good," I sighed, smiling. The blonde looked up at me with curious eyes. I chuckled, "because I don't intend to let you out of my sight for a LONG time."

He smiled tenderly and laid his head back against my chest. "Thank you." That was the last thing he said before falling asleep.

(Roxas POV)

The first thing I felt when I awoke was an incredible sense of warmth and comfort. I opened my eyes and found that my head was lying against Axel's chest. His face was in my hair, I could feel his warm breath caress my skin. Both our arms were wrapped around the other's waist.

I could feel the blood filling my face as I desperately tried to escape the embrace. That proved to be more difficult than I first thought. I didn't want to risk waking the red head, so I stayed where I was. Sure we had kissed, and as nice as it felt to be in this position, I had only known Axel for a short period of time. To be sleeping in the same bed as him seemed to me that things were moving a little fast.

I heard the red head moan and then he shifted positions. Slowly, I gazed up to see his emerald eyes sleepily staring down at me. He smiled and said very softly, "Good morning," before lazily rolling out of bed.

As soon as I felt his grip on me release, I attempted to make my escape back to the room that Axel had provided for me. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that I had changed into my Tenshi form the night before. My wing became caught underneath my hand as I pushed myself up, and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor. I heard laughing and assumed Axel had thought my struggle was funny. Of course, when I peered over the bed to look at him, he was practically rolling on the floor. I glared at the red head, not finding what happened at all funny.

(Axel POV)

As soon as I let him go, the little blonde scurried to the edge of the bed, but his wing had gotten caught underneath his hand and he ended up toppling to the floor, landing flat on his ass. I could see him glaring at me, but I couldn't help myself. The look on his face before he fell was just too funny, and the little pout he was wearing now was simply adorable.

Amidst my laughter, I managed to ask, "You…O-okay?"

The response to my question was simply more glaring. I loped over and hugged my little blue-eyed angel. "I'm sorry, but that was really funny."

"I could tell by your hysterical laughter," he growled in response.

He pouted for a little while, but eventually forgave me. Before returning to his room, he had to change back to his human form. I told him that if he was going to stay here, he'd have to tell Demyx and Zexion sooner or later. He simply stated, 'I know', before strutting out of the room, nose in the air. I couldn't help but giggle at his behavior. Taking a shower and styling my hair to its usual spikiness, I made my way downstairs to get breakfast.

I found Demyx in the kitchen making French toast and eggs, and Zexion reading the newspaper, but there was no Roxas.

"Where's Roxas?" I asked, grabbing some toast and the syrup.

"You mean muffin?" Demyx turned from the stove and faced me. "He's probably still in his room."

As if on cue, we turned and saw Roxas descending the staircase focusing his attention on buttoning his shirt. He had chosen to wear a white dress shirt with a black tie, and a pair of black dress pants.

"You look good!" I called to the blonde on the stairs, successfully distracting him from the stubborn button on his shirt.

"Thank you," he smirked, that air of cockiness still about him.

He made his way over to the table and I handed him a plate. We took a seat on either side of Zexion. Soon after, Demyx joined us, visibly upset that he couldn't sit next to his little boy-toy. Luckily, those two hadn't 'done it' since Roxas has been in the house. They probably got their fill yesterday while we were out shopping. I just didn't want them to traumatize the poor kid any more than he already was, ya' know?

We sat for a few minutes in silence until Zexion spoke up. "Well this isn't good," he said in a very serious tone. We all turned our attention to the lilac haired male. Without looking up from the paper he continued, "It says here that lately there has been an increase in the number of murders and disappearances of people in both Twilight Town and Hollow Bastion. They believe it to be the work of some sort of serial killer, because all of the bodies have been ripped apart by what appears to be a large blade." Roxas, Demyx and I looked at each other, then back at Zexion. "It also says the victims of these attacks were alone and attacked at night." Zexion sighed and folded the paper up. Then he turned to us and with a very serious expression said, "Therefore, it would be best if we were to be with at least one other person at all times and to remain indoors at night."

We all nodded in agreement, but Roxas looked very troubled. He got up from the table and sat down on the couch, looking very deep in thought. After grabbing mine and Roxas's dishes and putting them in the sink, I jogged over and took a seat next to him.

"What's wrong?"

"It's possible it could be nothing," the blonde answered, still deep in thought, "But then again, this very well could be a precursor to something worse to come."

"What do you mean?" I tried to read the blonde's expression, but got nothing.

"Vanitas may be sending the Akukage to the human world either to try and locate me or to make them stronger. In any case, this isn't good. I'll need help."

Making sure Demyx and Zexion were out of earshot, Roxas told me about a few Tenshi in the area that could help him find and kill the Akukage before any of this got out of hand. Their names were Zack, Cloud and Riku. I was startled when he mentioned Riku, but when I thought about it, he always was a strange kid.

Zack and Cloud lived in Hollow Bastion, the next town over, so we should find them first and then locate Riku. I told Roxas I could take him to see Zack and Cloud after my classes.

"I should be fine by myself," the blonde smiled rather convincingly, but I didn't buy it.

"I think I'd feel better if you stayed close to me until this thing is resolved."

"No, I don't want to be a burden to you during your studies," he was still tryin' to give me that phony smile, "Besides, I think the scent in your house is strong enough to mask mine." I raised an eyebrow.

From what he told me earlier, his brothers were bad news. I didn't want to risk him getting kidnapped or hurt.

"Nope. Mind's made up. You're commin' with me." Roxas sighed in defeat, but didn't look too depressed.

Demyx must've overheard that last part, because he came bouncing into the room. "OMG!" (Yes, he said the actual letters) "Muffin's coming with us?!"

"Yep," I smiled up at the mullhawk haired male.

"YAY!" he ran over and lifted Roxas, who simply smiled at his childlike behavior. To be honest, I felt a lot better now that Roxas was coming with us.

On our way there, I tried to come up with a few reasons to convince Roxas that it was better that he came with us then if he had stayed by himself. He did seem more willing when I mentioned the fact that there were a lot of things he missed in the past couple hundred years, and that now he had the chance to learn some of it. He seemed like the type of person who liked to learn new things, and of course, I was right.

When we got to the campus we were immediately assaulted with whispers and stared, all of which were directed toward Roxas. I could feel the blonde huddle closer to me as we walked.

We went passed several groups of girls, all huddled together whispering and giggling when they saw Roxas. I was certain it had something to do with his formal attire combined with is cuteness. Just then, we were confronted by the two last people I wanted to see.

"Hey Axel, Demyx, Zexion, who's your friend?" Kairi and Namine'. Two freshmen twins who were a real pain in the ass.

Kairi had pinkish red hair and always wore this slutty pink outfit that only just barely covered everything. She had a habit of always popping up when she's not wanted and butting into other people's business.

Namine' was a little better. She had almost white blonde hair and wore a plain white dress that covered far more than Kairi's outfit, but still not enough to make it acceptable in public. All she did was follow Kairi everywhere.

Both of them were completely obsessed with me their first few weeks here. I finally got them to give up on me by telling them I was gay, which I am. They must have not fully believed me, because every once in a while they attempt to flirt with me.

"He's a senior from the high school. He's gonna shadow me today," I answered, a tinge of annoyance in my voice. I could feel Roxas trying to hide behind me, but not enough so that it was obvious.

"He's so CUTE!" they squealed, "What's his name?" They went behind me on either side, preventing Roxas from escaping.

"Uh, Roxas," he mumbled.

Demyx and Zexion obviously sensed the blonde's distress and tried to help. "Hey Roxas, let's go see the rest of the campus shall we?" Zexion said hurriedly and grabbed Roxas's arm, pulling him from the two girls.

"Yeah, we'll show you the main building," Demyx added, grabbing his other sleeve. Roxas sighed in relief as the two led him away.

"Wait, we'll come too!" Kairi shouted.

"No ya don't." I grabbed the back of their shirts and lifted them so they were at my eye level. "If you want to see more of him, I suggest you wait 'till next year, because if you stalk him now you'll just end up scaring him away. Got it memorized?"

They nodded and I set them down. Very swiftly, they returned to where they came from. I sighed, scratching the back of my head, and then proceeded to find the others.

(Roxas POV)

I was grateful to Demyx and Zexion. They saved me from those two women. I'm fairly certain that their clothes were not appropriate for school at all.

"Thank you both very much," I smiled up at them.

"Don't worry about it," Zexion responded in his usual monotone voice.

"Yeah," Demyx added cheerfully, "we'd never let them hurt our little muffin!"

"Hey, wait up!" We turned to see Axel running to catch up to us. I traded my spot between Demyx and Zexion for my usual spot clinging to Axel. As much as I didn't want to inhibit Axel's movements, that was the only place I felt safe.

After wandering the campus for a while, we came to a huge building that was a great deal larger than the rest. Once inside we weaved our way through other students carrying bags and various books.

"Hey!" Demyx shouted to a group of people carrying instruments. They smiled and waved back. Demyx grabbed Zexion and his sitar and ran off to meet them. "Bye Axel, bye muffin!" the tall blonde called back to us, "See you guys later!"

We continued our stroll through the hallways. Axel giggled at my reaction to all of the different sights. I didn't care though. Everything was so new to me, so strange and fascinating. There were numerous eating establishments selling foods called 'pitsa' and 'submarlene sandwiches' or something of that nature.

I was still asking Axel about the different foods when we entered a very large room. There was a huge staircase and about every few steps there was a very long desk that stretched quite a ways until it broke off, leaving a gap between it and another long desk. Axel and I went about halfway up before choosing a seat in the middle of the desk. There were a few others already in the room chatting.

"Is this one of your classes?" I asked gazing up at Axel expectantly.

"Yeah, this is my history class," he responded, a huge grin on his face, "You'll enjoy this. Right now we're learning about World War I."

"There was a World War?!" I asked shocked.

"There were two."

I couldn't believe it. All I could do was shake my head and lean back in m chair. Axel chuckled and put his hand on my head. I smiled and leaned into his touch.

More and more people filled the large room. Eventually, a fairly attractive man with dark red hair walked to the front of the room and began to write on the chalkboard. (At least I knew what a chalkboard was. Those things were around when **I** was a kid)

"That's Genesis Rhapsodos," Axel whispered, "He's the history teacher, but he also teaches in the drama department, so he can get a little emotional about his lessons."

The red head was right. The class was so interesting and I learned so much! Axel was practically asleep next to me though. He only showed signs of life when the teacher wrote something on the board, which he, in turn, copied into his notes. The next two classes were similar. I learned so much and was completely interested the entire time, whereas Axel showed a complete lack of interest.

There was a break between his last class and the next one, so we decided to get something to eat. I purchased a piece of 'pizza', as I now knew in was called, and Axel had a sandwich. We found a table and I began to tell Axel about everything I learned today. The red head seemed to be more interested in the things I was telling him than when the teachers had. He smiled and every once in a while would ask a question or make a comment. It made me happy that Axel was taking such an interest in me.

For two hundred years I was locked in a dungeon and brutally tortured, beaten and raped on a daily basis. Now, I finally had a chance to live and be happy. Being with Axel made me the happiest I've ever been in my entire life. I never wanted it to end. I didn't want to go back to the life I had before, if you can call that pathetic existence a life.

I took another bite of pizza, which was delicious by the way, and ever so subtly moved my hand to the bullet wound on my abdomen. Ever since this morning, it's been very sore. Apparently Axel didn't notice because he just kept eating.

Just then I saw a flash of silver out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and saw a tall, silver haired male with aquamarine eyes walking toward a table on the other side of the room. Trailing slightly behind him was a smaller teen, about my height. He had brown hair that spiked out in all different directions, and a pair of sapphire eyes similar to mine. The way the brunette was clinging to him made me wonder if that was how I looked with Axel.

"Hey, there's Riku," Axel pointed out, craining his neck to get a better view. "But what's his little boy-toy, Sora, doin' here? He's in high school."

I turned my body to look at the two who had just sat down. "With the rising level in activity of the Akukage, it's no wonder the Tenshi would want to keep their loved ones close."

"Well, let's go say hi," Axel said pushing himself out of the chair. We made our way over to the table, my wound was really starting to bother me.

"Hey Riku, 'sup man?!" Axel waved, a big grin on his face.

"Hello Axel," Riku sighed and turned to face us. A look of shock came over his face as he spotted me. "Roxas, is that you?"

I grinned sheepishly and waved, "Hello Riku."

Suddenly, the brunette on the other side of the table leapt up very enthusiastically and chirped, "Hi Axel!" before giving him a big hug.

"Hey spazz, haven't seen you in a while. What's up?"

"Nothin' much!" He gave a huge grin before turning his attention to me. The spiky haired brunette held out his hand and said politely, "Hi. I'm Sora."

I couldn't help but gasp a little and slightly back away when I saw his face. He was almost identical to Vanitas. The only changes were the hair and eye color, and that his eyes held no malevolence in them, only purity and innocence. He obviously didn't notice my reaction so, as not to look suspicious, I took his hand and shook it.

"I'm Roxas."

The brunette smiled sweetly before asking, "So how do you know Riku?"

I had managed to calm myself down somewhat by telling myself over and over, This is not Vanitas, He's not going to hurt me. I gave a questioning glance to Riku and he nodded. Good, so he already knows. "I'm a Tenshi," I responded calmly.

The brunette gasped excitedly, then took my hands and bounced up and down. "So then you're just like Riku!" His behavior reminded me of Demyx.

I smiled inwardly and turned to Riku, "So then, you know what's going on?"

His gaze fell to the floor and he looked deep in thought. "I know enough to not leave Sora alone." Sora ran over and hugged the silver haired male. Riku, in turn, wrapped an arm protectively around the brunette. "I hope you know more than I do."

We all sat down and I told Riku my theory of what Vanitas was planning, but also told him we should find Zack and Cloud before becoming too involved. We agreed to try and meet with them after classes were over and discuss a plan then.

When we finished, I talked with Sora about various things, mostly answering questions about me. The brunette and I really hit it off. Axel and Riku sat back and listened to the conversation.

"So you got to fight monsters with Riku, that is SO COOL!" Sora smiled excitedly.

I grinned back when suddenly, a sharp pain pierced my stomach and spread throughout my body. Luckily, I was able to hide the grimace under a false smile, and my arm clutching my side was hidden under the table. I stood, still cradling my wound.

"What's up?" Axel asked as I began walking to the restroom. I could taste copper and feel the blood beginning to stain my shirt.

"I'm just going to the restroom. I don't feel too well." I didn't wait for an answer as I walked calmly to the men's room.

Thankfully no one was there. I entered a stall and locked the door, then slowly sat on the floor. By this time the blood was oozing out from in between my fingers. Agonizing pain racked my body with wave after wave. As more blood dripped from my mouth, it became harder to breathe. Each breath was a struggle, and my vision started to blur.

Suddenly, I heard the door open and two voices calling my name. It was Axel and Riku.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

(Axel POV)

"Is he okay?" Sora asked worriedly.

"I don't know," I responded, not turning my attention away from the small blonde as he entered the men's room. "He's been holding his side all day, but I haven't thought much of it."

"Do ya think it coulda' been somethin' he ate?" the brunette questioned again.

"No, but I think I might know what the problem is," I said, starting toward the door, "I'm gonna go check on him."

"I'll come too," I heard Riku call behind me. I turned and waited for the silver haired teen.

"Me too," Sora added, a determined look on his face.

Riku placed a hand on the brunette's head and said, "No Sora. You just stay here, okay?" The brunette pouted, but nodded in agreement.

Riku and I made our way into the restroom. It looked like there was no one there, but we could clearly hear panting coming from one of the stalls.

"Roxas?" Riku called, walking over to the stall.

"You okay?" I added, joining him.

"Axel?" Roxas panted. "I think…my stitches…were torn."

"How bad is it?!" I gasped, almost throwing myself into the stall door.

"There's…a lot of…blood…but it's mostly…just the pain…I'm…concerned about."

"Roxas," Riku said sternly, "open the door. We'll take you to the clinic."

"Alright," Roxas panted and opened the stall door. He was sitting on the ground; blood dripped from his mouth and drenched the area around his hand where he grasped his shirt. His expression was pained and his breathing was labored. I swiftly, but gently lifted him bridal style.

"I'll take him," I told Riku, "you go and get Sora."

Luckily, most of the people had left, and the only ones remaining were either asleep of too busy to notice. The clinic was on the other side of the campus, so I had to hurry, but I kept my pace at a brisk walk so I wouldn't jostle Roxas around too much. When we got outside, it was the same deal. Basically everyone was gone besides a few exceptions.

Roxas had his head laid against my chest and his eyes were tightly closed. "Axel," he whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I'm…sorry for…putting you through…all this…trouble."

"Hey, don't apologize. This isn't your fault."

The blonde chuckled a little. "Yes…but…since you…met me…I've…done nothing…but make you…worry. You've done…so much…for me. There's no way…for me…to make it…up to…you. I'm…so sorry."

Listening to him say that, even while he was in so much pain, I just didn't know how to respond. It should be him he's worried about, not me.

The next few minutes were virtually silent. The only sounds were my hurried footsteps and Roxas's labored breathing and occasional gasps of pain. Eventually, we came to a small building at the edge of the campus.

I burst through the front door and shouted, "Hey, I need some help!"

"What, what?! What's wrong?!" A brown haired man came rushing into the front room wearing a white doctor's uniform. His hair fell down to his shoulders and a large scar ran diagonally down the middle of his face. When his eyes fell on Roxas, he motioned for me to follow him and commanded, "This way, come on." We made our way to the back room. It was lined with beds and large cabinets filled with, what looked to be, medicine. "Lay him on the bed." I did as instructed, and he returned shortly with antiseptic, tape, bandages, and gauze.

"What happened?" he asked, practically ripping the small blonde's shirt off his body, which was now drenched in blood.

"A couple weeks ago, he was shot. His stitches must've torn," I hurriedly explained while pacing around next to the bed.

By this time, he had cleaned the wound and was now taping on the bandage. He was still bleeding, but not as badly, and he was still in a lot of pain.

"Is he gonna be okay?" I asked as he wrapped the wound.

"He should be okay. Anyone who can sustain that much blood loss and still stay awake should be just fine."

The blonde had opened his eyes, and looked up at me like he wanted to say something, but his breathing was still labored so it was easier just to stay quiet. I knelt down and smiled tenderly, placing my hand on his head. He, in turn, leaned into the touch. It made me happy that I could provide an alternative to his pain.

"What are your names?" the brunette asked, cleaning up.

"Uh, I-I'm Axel, and this is Roxas." Roxas looked up at him and smiled politely, still panting.

"Leon," the brunette cleaned the blood off his hand then offered it to me. I returned the gesture and shook his hand. "I'll be in the other room. Call me if something happens."

For the next few minutes I tried my best to comfort the blonde. I talked to him about random things while running my hand through his soft spikes, trying to distract him from his injured state.

Riku and Sora showed up a while later, but Sora had to stay in the front room. Apparently he faints at the sight of blood.

"What happened?" Riku asked, staring down at the blonde, a very serious look on his face. The blonde had fallen asleep, but his breathing was still heavy, and his blood now soaked through the bandages.

"To be honest, I don't really know." I stood gazing down at my poor blonde. "He thinks the stitches could've torn, but Leon said that if that was the case there shouldn't have been that much blood."

"I think I might know what's going on," Riku said, turning to leave, "Let's go into the other room." I followed hesitantly after the silver haired male, not really wanting to leave Roxas.

Sora was obviously happy to see Riku, because when he entered the room, the brunette's expression visibly brightened and he bounced over and hugged him. We sat down and began speaking in low voices, just in case someone was listening.

"I don't think this was caused by something as simple as torn stitches," Riku's tone was very serious and held a small tinge of sadness. "Tenshi that are inexperienced will often fail at their first attempt at going to the human world. If they are unable to make a passageway through the darkness, they're forced to create a makeshift human body. However, due to that inexperience, their bodies take on the physical state of when they died. If a Tenshi is lucky, their bodies were 'well designed' enough to heal completely. Most of the time though, their wounds are too great and the result is death."

I gasped and my green eyes went wide. That was horrible! No one should be forced to die the same way twice.

"But what about Roxas?" I asked enthusiastically, still confused, "He recovered from his injuries, so why is he like this now?"

"With care, the body will recover at first. They'll appear perfectly normal for a time, but eventually their bodies will begin to fail. It will deteriorate back to its original state, ultimately ending in death." I almost literally felt my heart shatter. "I believe Roxas's body is shutting down. With care, he'll probably last a week, at most."

Suddenly, a ray of hope shone through, "Wait! If he dies he'll turn back into a Tenshi right?" Riku nodded. "So can't he just make a new, better body and come back? One that won't fail?"

Riku sighed. "It is a possibility," he stated apathetically, "but if he returns to the Dark Realm his brothers will undoubtedly capture him. They'll be sure to use the most cruel and malicious tactics in order to prevent him from returning."

All hope I had held was crushed. The only thing I wanted to do now was stay with my little blue-eyed angel. Before I was able to leave, however, Riku spoke up again, this time with a little more enthusiasm. "But, if we can figure out Vanitas's plan, we could stop him and save Roxas in the process." Hope returned, and I let out a relieved sigh. "The only thing we can concentrate on now is finding as many allies as possible and finding out what Vanitas intends to do."

I returned to the back room and found that Roxas had woken up. His breathing had somewhat returned to normal which was a huge relief. I told him we needed to go tell Demyx and Zexion. He asked why and I told him that Zexion might be able to help us. The guy knew a lot of weird stuff, and even if he didn't know, he's also a research whiz. Telling him would only benefit us, and if we told him, we would also have to tell Demyx. The little blonde wanted to come, but before I had the chance to stop him, Leon saved the day. He told him that in the condition he was in, he wouldn't be going anywhere for a few hours, and therefore, was to remain in bed. Before I left, I knelt down and kissed him on the forehead. You'd think that with that much blood loss, the kid wouldn't have enough to fill his face, but he did.

Once our last class was over, Riku, Sora and I located Demyx and Zexion, and told them all about what happened and what was currently going on. Demyx was easily convinced, but at the moment was too caught up in sulking over Roxas that he couldn't help convince Zexion. The little emo was much more skeptical, which required more 'proof' from Riku. I was surprised to see that the color of his wings weren't silver like his hair, but instead were a deep indigo that was almost black. The sight alone was enough to make Zexion a believer.

Sora prevented us from moving on for a while. He was entirely obsessed with Riku in his Tenshi form and clung to him, begging and pleading for him to stay like that. However, even though there was no one around, we were still in public, so Riku had to change back to his human form. Sora pouted, but still clung to Riku, refusing to let the silver haired male go.

"I have actually read a few books about the Tenshi, but probably not enough to be useful," Zexion inquired, pacing around the room. We had gone back to the clinic and gotten Roxas, and were now back in my apartment. Demyx was absolutely hysterical when he saw him. If we hadn't of reminded the large blonde that he was still hurt, Roxas would have probably been hugged to death. Even so, Demyx refused to let go of Roxas.

"No! Muffin needs me and I'm not letting him go!" the mullhawked teen argued. So we had no choice but to let him have his way. Besides, Roxas seemed to be okay with it.

We decided to play sick tomorrow and all go to Hollow Bastion to see Cloud and Zack. It made sense for Riku and Sora to spend the night, so we stayed up for a while chatting with the silver haired male and his boy-toy about random things.

"Wait, so if Roxas controls light, what do you do Riku?" Demyx asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Oh!" Roxas stated enthusiastically, answering for Riku. "He's really unique. Riku controls twilight, kind of like a combination of mine and Vanitas's powers," the blonde smiled, almost bragging.

Riku chuckled. "Yep, that's right."

"So then you can do anything that Roxas and Vanitas can do?" Demyx questioned again, still confused.

"Not exactly," Riku answered his own question this time, "Every Tenshi's power is unique. While I can do some of the things they can, I also have powers that are specific to me. So even if there were two Tenshi who both control the same element, they would each be able to do something the other couldn't." Demyx was still confused, as were the rest of us humans. "For example, Roxas has the power to heal people, an ability that only he possesses. There are no other Tenshi that control light that can do that." The small blonde had a large grin on his face, obviously proud of himself.

"Wait, you can heal people?" I asked dumbfounded.

"Yep," the blonde chirped, "and bring 'em back to life too." He was getting better at using slang instead of proper English.

"So then, couldn't you just heal yourself?"

Riku answered for him this time, "He can only heal others, not himself"

"Trust me, I've tried." The blonde's smirk faded and his eyes fell to the floor.

Uh oh, I think I just killed his high.

"That's still awesome though!" I caught myself, "That's an amazing ability to have." He gave a small smile, and blushed a little. Ah, the sweet smell of success! "What can you do Riku?"

"I can borrow the powers of others and use them to my advantage." We oooed and aawed. Sora moved to Riku's lap and sat with a very proud expression on his face. You could tell that kid really admired him.

I noticed Roxas had started to grab at his bandages; they were probably starting to bother him.

"Well, time for bed!" I grunted, slapping my hands on my knees and pushing myself out of my chair. I figured that would be a good excuse seeing as it was around ten o' clock at night. "Come on little buddy," I sauntered over and lifted Roxas off of Demyx's lap. Both protested. Roxas, because he didn't enjoy being lifted, and squirmed around like a restless puppy. Demyx, because he still didn't want to let go of Roxas. I glared at the blonde, so he pouted then moved over and sat on Zexion's lap.

It always surprised me how different Zexion was when he was around Demyx. He smiled more and seemed very relaxed. I just assumed it was because he loved the mullhawed dirty blonde that he put up with him. I was probably right.

I carried the little blonde upstairs, much to his displeasure, and sat him on his bed.

"Why so early," Roxas asked, cocking his head to the side, vastly increasing his 'puppiness'.

"I just wanted to spend some time with you," I replied calmly, "away from other people."

"Oh," he still looked confused. I sat next to him and put my hand on his head. He smiled and leaned against my shoulder.

"Do your wounds still hurt?" I asked in a soft voice, repositioning my hand from his head to the part of his arm below his shoulder.

"They started to hurt again before we went upstairs," he responded in an equally soft voice, "but it's much better than it was earlier today."

"That's good. I'll get you some pain killers before you go to bed." I laid the side of my face on his soft spikes.

"Did Riku know…what was wrong with me?"

"Yeah." The truth hurt so badly. I wanted more than anything to lie to him, to tell him he was going to be alright, to tell myself he was going to be alright. But I couldn't do that to him. He had a right to know the truth, despite how much it hurt me to say it. "He said… your body's failing. That it's deteriorating back to the state it was in when you first got here."

"How long?" he whispered.

"About a week, at the most."

"Oh."

The room went silent. We just sat there, holding each other. I wanted to try and take his mind off of things, so I started a new conversation.

"Tell me about Zack and Cloud. What're they like?"

Roxas could tell that I was tryin' to change the subject, but he went along with it. "Well, Zack was a soldier in a war. He was actually a general and specialized in military tactics and training. According to him, his unite was the best in the entire U.S army."

"What happened to him," I asked, genuinely curious.

"During one of the battles, one of his friends had been wounded. He rushed over to him and tried to take him to the medical tent. On his way there, someone shot him through the heart. He died during the battle that had ultimately ended the war."

"Wow. That really sucks. And Cloud?"

Roxas was silent for a moment. "He was an olden day police officer, kind of from around my time. One day, he was chasing a criminal that had… stolen something, I can't remember what it was. The man led him into an abandoned building and ambushed him. He was stabbed in the chest and had his throat cut open."

This was probably just as equally depressing as our first conversation. "It's like all the Tenshi died in really traumatic and terrible ways. Is it like that for everyone?"

Roxas sighed, "Pretty much. Riku was hit by a car trying to save a kid that had wandered out into the street. He basically died from massive internal bleeding. However, he was able to save the child. He's very grateful for that."

I chuckled half-heartedly. "It also sounds like all the Tenshi were some pretty good people."

"Yeah," Roxas agreed, smiling, "They were all heroes. Every one of them died to protect something they believed in. They're also all very kind and caring people. That's why they left the Dark Realm and came here." I gave the blonde a questioning glance. He laughed and explained in a very caring voice, almost as if he were talking about a close family member, "They all came here so they wouldn't have to fight anymore. All Zack and Cloud wanted to do was be together, somewhere safe where they knew the other was alright."

"Oh, so they're a couple then," I said in one of those, 'okay, NOW I get it', kind of voices.

"Yeah," the blonde chuckled, "And Riku came here on a mission one day and found Sora. He never came back to the Dark Realm after that. I missed them all for a time, but I was just glad that all of them were happy."

"I'm lookin' forward to meetin' 'em tomorrow."

"It would be nice to see them again," Roxas sighed and closed his eyes. After a while he started fidgeting with his bandages again.

"Come on," I grunted, "Let's go change your bandages."

I picked him up again, to which he immediately protested, and walked over to the bathroom. I sat him down on the edge of the bathtub and took his shirt off.

"I'm not a child you know," he growled, blushing. I just giggled and began to unwrap his bandages. He had started bleeding again, but it wasn't nearly as bad as earlier. It was more like a bad bloody nose than anything, nothing serious. When I finished, I lifted him up again and carried him back to his room. I sat him on his bed and walked over to the door.

"Well, goodnight," I waved and turned to walk out the door.

"Wait, Axel!" I turned back around to look at the little blonde. His gaze immediately fell to the floor and his face turned red. "Thank you."

"For what?" I chuckled.

"For saving me today, and the night I came here, and also for letting me stay here and buying me new clothes. I hadn't thanked you before so I'm thanking you now." By this time, the blush had reached his ears. He was so cute.

I walked back over to him and tilted his chin up with my thumb and index finger. Then I quickly bent down and crushed my lips against his own, gently, but with enough force to make it passionate. After getting over the initial shock, he began returning the kiss. What happened next was completely unexpected.

Out of nowhere, I felt his tongue graze my lower lip, obviously seeking entry. I immediately granted him access. Slowly, but surely, he began to explore my mouth, memorizing every nook and cranny. Our tongues battled and the sweet taste of Roxas filled my senses. He moaned softly as he pulled back and allowed me access to him. I practically shoved my tongue down the blonde's throat and I could tell by the moans vibrating through his chest that he was totally enjoying it. I carefully slipped my hand up his shirt, passed the bandages to his chest. Another moan escaped the blonde as I began to massage one of his nipples. Carefully, with just enough force, I pushed him to the bed, straddling him. Saliva ran down the side of my mouth and I could feel the increasing heat in my pants. Roxas forced my tongue back and was now dominating the kiss. I never knew he could be so forceful. We pulled away for just a moment, inhaling deeply as the much needed oxygen filled our lungs, but quickly returned. He wrapped his arms around my neck and began grabbing fistfuls of hair. The tips of my fingers ran up and down the blonde's silky smooth chest. My senses were completely overwhelmed, and sweat dripped from my face.

"Gahhhh!!!" I quickly pulled back at the blonde's scream. He grimaced and wrapped his arms tightly around his stomach, curling into a fetal position. He panted and groaned in pain, eyes tightly shut.

"OH MY GOD, I AM SO SORRY!" I apologized frantically, pulling my hands back.

"It's…okay," he heaved, trying to look up at me.

"No! It's not!" I shouted, flailing my arms in the air while pacing around in circles. "You were hurt! I shouldn't have done that! I should have known better! And then I ended up hurting you! My God! I am SO sorry!" I grabbed fistfuls of my hair and pulled on it.

"No…Seriously," he panted, smiling up at me, "I really…enjoyed it."

I sighed, a lot calmer now. "Alright, but you're still hurt. Let me see."

He slowly uncurled and I gently pulled his arms from his stomach, but another jolt of pain sent them flying back. Once again, I pulled his arms from his body and removed his shirt. His bandages were completely saturated with blood. "Shit," I muttered, and carefully lifted the small blonde bridal style.

As we walked out the door and into the hallway, Demyx ran up the stairs asking, "What happened? We heard screaming. Oh my gosh, Muffin!" He ran over and placed his hand on the kid's head. Roxas turned his head and looked at him. He looked completely drained and his breathing was still labored. "Oh, you look awful. What happened to him Axel?"

"He was exerting himself a little too much," I smiled slightly and looked down at the blonde who had returned to burying his face in my chest. He really did look awful. His face was pale and it looked as though he had just run a marathon. Demyx and I quickly took him into the bathroom and cleaned his wounds. We taped on new bandages and gave him some painkillers.

This time I carried him to my room and laid him down on my bed. His eyes were tightly shut and he continued to pant. After a few minutes, I told Demyx I could handle it from here, and he hesitantly returned downstairs.

"I can…sleep…in my…own bed. You don't…have to…do this. I'll be…fine," Roxas almost pleaded. He really hated doing anything that he thought might burden me in any way.

I smiled tenderly at him and shook my head. "Nuh uh. You're sleeping with me so I can keep an eye on you." I snuggled in next to him under the covers and ran my fingers through his hair. "Try and fall asleep."

I hummed a few songs and held his hand, massaging it gently with my thumb. After a while, his breathing slowed to an, almost normal pace. I buried my face in his soft spikes and slowly drifted off into sleep. The only thing on my mind for the rest of the night was my beautiful blue-eyed angel.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It was around 8 o' clock as we all sat around eating the breakfast Demyx had so graciously prepared. Riku and Sora had spent the night on the couch. They had seemed comfortable enough, snuggled together the way they were when I came down this morning.

Roxas took a shower, which really wouldn't have mattered that much except when I walked past the door, I could hear him singing. Ah, the sound of his sweet, angelic voice just made my heart melt. His singing voice was simply beautiful. He could probably make an honest career out of it. When he came out of the shower I praised him on his absolutely beautimous singing. However, his face turned dark red and he hurried off to his room without saying a word. I decided not to bug him about it after that.

Before we left, Riku called Zack and Cloud to let them know we were coming. Once we got the okay, we hopped in Demyx's car and began the two hour drive to Hollow Bastion. Seeing as his car isn't really build to handle massive amounts of people, Roxas had to sit on my lap, which he really didn't seem to mind. In fact, I could swear he was trying to snuggle up to me the entire way, but it could've just been the genuine lack of space.

I let Roxas listen to my ipod on the way there. He'd been deprived of good music of like two hundred years, I figured it was the least I could do. I could tell the little blonde really enjoyed the music by the way he danced around and occasionally head banged to a couple of heavy metal songs. However, he got stuck on a Nickleback song that he really liked; If Everyone Cared. He listened to it repeatedly. Halfway into the trip, he got so into it that he actually began singing. Everyone stared at him dumbfounded, and listened as he sang the whole song. The blonde must not have been aware of his actions, because when it was over, he blushed and asked panicked, "What? Did I do something?"

"OMG!" Demyx squealed, "That was amazing Muffin! You're such a good singer!"

"Yeah," Riku agreed, "That was awesome. I've never heard you sing before. You should do it more often."

Roxas's face turned a deep red, he hid his face in my chest and then said, muffled, "Thank you."

Everyone laughed and I put my hand on his head. "See, I told you so." He glanced up at me, but then quickly buried his head back in my chest. I giggled, then kissed the top of his head.

After a while, we pulled into a rather nice apartment complex similar to mine. It was almost as flashy, but not enough for it to be described as ostentatious. We entered the building and wandered around until we found the right apartment. A very tall, well built man answered the door. He had spiky, jet black hair and had bright blue eyes that almost seemed to glow.

He smiled when he saw Riku and Roxas, then turned and yelled, "Hey Cloud, guess who's here." The raven haired man turned back to us, huge smile on his face, and motioned for us to come inside. The inside was very nice and well furnished and almost as big as my apartment.

"Zack!" Roxas chirped and glomped the raven haired man.

"Hey little buddy, how ya been?" Zack smiled sweetly and patted Roxas on the head. The small blonde returned the smile and released his grip on the larger male.

"Sorry, I didn't know you'd be this early." We turned our attention toward the stairs and saw another, shorter man. He looked a lot like Roxas. The same spiky, blonde hair and blue eyes. However, his hair was a little less spiky, and his eyes weren't as deep set blue.

"Cloud!" Roxas bounced over to the larger blonde and jumped on him, wrapping his arms around his neck. His reaction to Cloud was much bigger than his one toward Zack. Both blondes smiled and laughed.

"What's up with them?" I whispered to Riku, a hint of annoyance in my voice.

Riku sighed. "Relax. Cloud is actually Roxas's older brother. He had moved away before they were born and died before he got to meet them, so Cloud has no idea they're related. Roxas has never told him either."

"Why would he do that?" I asked.

"Roxas thinks that if he tells him, Cloud will treat him the same way Ven and Vanitas do."

"What?! That's crazy! I mean, look at the way they treat each other. How can he possibly think that?"

Riku's tone became low and more serious. "Because that's the exact same way he and Ven were before he murdered their family and almost killed Roxas on several occasions."

"Oh." Now I understood why he could talk about Vanitas, but whenever Ven came up he would always change the subject. Roxas had loved him, and he turned around and killed their parents then almost tortured him to death.

"So, what's the plan?" Cloud asked setting Roxas down.

"Right now, our plan is to come up with a plan," I gestured toward the couch. Roxas sat with Cloud and Zack on the couch which, I'll admit, made me a little jealous. Zexion and Demyx sat together and I went over and sulked in a chair by myself.

"Alright," Zexion started, "I did some research last night and managed to find some interesting things." We all listened intently. "From what I read, it appears Vanitas has done something like this in the past. The details are hazy, but the ending results weren't good. Thousands were killed, and hundreds vanished. If he's attempting something like this now, it can only end in massive bloodshed."

"But what does he want?" Zack asked.

"That, I don't know."

"I think I might have an idea," Roxas sighed. "I saw some of the products of his malice. Vanitas would send the Akukage to the human world and have them kill hundreds of people. Then he would bring them back to the Dark Realm. It wasn't often he did this, but sometimes he would bring me the bodies and have me revive them. At the time I had no choice, so I did what I was told. I think that in order to achieve whatever goal he may have, he needs me to do it."

We all chatted for a while about possible plans and solutions. Eventually, we decided that for now it would be best to destroy any of the Akukage we saw, but not go looking for trouble.

"I have an idea about how we could learn Vanitas's plan, but it's just an idea," Roxas almost mumbled, looking at the floor.

"Hey, any idea's worth listenin' to, and we always have our original plan to fall back on."

The small blonde hesitated, but took a deep breath and exclaimed, "If I were to get caught by Vanitas, I might be able to learn his plans. Then I could find some way to contact you and give you the information."

"No way!" I shouted, leaping out of my seat, "There's no way in HELL I'm letting you sacrifice yourself!"

"Hey, calm down Axel. It was just an idea," Demyx soothed, putting his hands on my shoulders.

"It wouldn't be a sacrifice," Roxas added, "I'd be more like a prisoner of war. Besides, I've dealt with their shit for two hundred years. I think I can take care of myself."

"You're not doing it and that's FINAL! We'll figure out some other way to learn his plan."

"Axel's right," Cloud said calmly, "we wouldn't want to risk your safety, and if it's true that he needs you, it would be best if you stayed hidden and not draw attention to yourself." Roxas sighed and nodded in agreement.

After talking for a while longer, we decided to meet back in a couple of days and share anything we learned. We said our goodbyes and started the two hour trip home. Roxas fell asleep almost immediately after we got in the car. He must've had some sort of nightmare, because he stared fidgeting and murmuring things like, 'no, stop' and 'please don't', then he began clutching his side and whimpering in pain. I tried my best to comfort him, and eventually got him to quiet down, but he still grabbed at his side.

(Roxas POV)

_"No! Please Stop!"_

_"What's wrong brother? Not enjoying yourself? Maybe I should try a little harder." _

_His fingers went deeper. I could feel the gashes forming inside me. The pain was so intense, and I started to become dizzy from lack of blood. He removed his hand and licked the blood from his fingers. Tears streamed down my face, and I could feel the stomach acid in the back of my throat. I felt so disgusting._

_"Come now brother. Scream for me. You know I love it when you scream, almost as much as I enjoy the sight of your blood."_

_"Stop...please," I pleaded._

_"No, I don't think youv'e learned your lesson yet. I'm going to show you, that escape is impossible. You will never leave this place. I won't allow you to kill yourself, nor will I allow you to go to the human world. I'm going to keep you here forever."_

_He grabbed my left wing and began to dig his nails into the joint. I screamed in pain as he dug deeper, blood trickled down my back._

_"No! Stop! Please Don't!" I shrieked in agony as he began ripping my wing from my back. There were several pops and snaps and grotesque tearing noises. Blood sprayed against the walls. Eventually, he had removed the entire appendage. I collapsed in a lake of my own blood as he removed the chains binding my wrists and ankles. Everything was out of focus, but I refused to let myself fall into unconsciousness. He laughed maliciously and exited the room. __I lay there, crying in agony._

_"Roxas? Roxas?"_

_I was aware of some heavenly voice calling my name. It was enough to almost completely distract me from the pain, so I let the sound fill me. Eventually, everything faded into darkness._

(Axel POV)

When we got home it was still midday. I took Roxas upstairs where I changed his bandages. He had woken up. I asked about the dream, but he didn't want to talk about it. All he said was, 'bad memories' and left it at that. I assumed that the pain from his wounds must've triggered the nightmare. I wanted to get his mid off of things, so when we went downstairs I suggested, "Why don't we go somewhere, you know, to get our minds offa things."

"Thanks Axel," Demyx smiled, then a mischievous smile spread across his face, "but me and Zexy are gonna do somethin' else to get our minds offa things." Zexion returned his partner's mischevious smile, and both took off toward their room.

"I'll go with you," Roxas smiled sweetly, then turned and faced the stairs, "I don't think I want to be around to find out what those two are doing up there."

I laughed, "Trust me, you don't."

We went to the mall, this time just to wander. We perused the various stores and a sudden desire to mess with Roxas came over me, so I took him into the Apple Store.

"What's this thing?" Roxas asked curiously, picking up an iphone.

"It's an iphone," I responded purposely to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal.

"What does it do?"

"Everything."

"Like what?"

"Well," I pressed the button on the bottom, making the device light up, "you can call people, go online, start your car, turn on the lights, take pictures, record videos, ect."

Roxas gasped. "How can you act like that's nothing?! This is astounding!" He grabbed the iphone out of my hands, "There aren't even any buttons. So you just touch the screen and it works?" I nodded. He began frantically pressing apps, "I only had a ball and a stick to play with when I was young. How can you act like this is no big deal?!" I laughed and patted his head.

After finally ripping him from the various technological devices, we continued our trip through the mall. We stopped by a book store where we spent almost an hour. Roxas had found one of my books and began reading it. I eventually got him to put it down by reminding him that I had a copy of it at home. By the time we were done, the sun had started to set and we had to hurry home.

"Damn," I grunted, "We were out too long." We were about half way to the apartment and the sun was now completely set.

"We should be fine," Roxas said calmly. Ever since the sun disappeared, he had become very tense and alert. The way he jumped at every little noise and shadow made him seem like a trapped animal. He didn't seem like my little Roxas anymore.

Suddenly, we heard a high pitched female scream. The sound made us jump, but we were soon sprinting in the direction of the shriek. When we turned the corner we saw a young woman on the ground, cowering from a large, almost wolf-like creature. On all fours it was about the same height as me. It didn't really have any distinguishing features other than its glowing red eyes and huge talons attached to large, muscular limbs. The creature's menacing fangs oozed a thick dark liquid. It could've been saliva for all I knew, but it was too dark to be blood. The huge creature slowly stalked over to the poor woman, growling threateningly. Out of nowhere, Roxas leaped in between the beast and the woman.

"Run," he commanded. The woman nodded and fled. Angered by the escape of it's meal, a horrendous snarl ripped through the creatures chest. In response, Roxas tensed and a flash of light shown for a brief second in his hand. The light was immediately replaced by a shimmering white sword that was entirely snow white from blade to hilt. Protruding from the end of the hilt was a short, white chain. Very slowly, Roxas ran his right hand over the blade, causing it to glow as he passed over it.

"Wait, Roxas! Come back here!" I shouted, "That thing's gonna kill you!"

Either the blonde was too focused that he couldn't hear me or he was just flat-out ignoring me. Either way, he stood his ground as the creature lunged at him. Just as the creature became close enough to him that he could feel the tips of its claws, the blonde side stepped to the right and embedded his sword deep into the monster's side. The motion of the creature descending toward Earth caused the blade to slash all the way down the beast's side. The large creature crashed into the ground in a heap, dead. The entire event seemed to last hours, but in reality lasted only a couple of seconds

Roxas stood, sword in hand, then turned to face me. This wasn't my innocent little blue-eyed angel anymore. Before me stood a warrior, and a powerful one at that. The sight of him made me shudder a little, but also filled me with pride. He was mine. He didn't belong to anyone else. I smiled and began jogging over to him.

"That was awesome! You never told me you were so bad-ass!"

He returned the smile and came to meet me. However, before he even took a step, three more of those creatures emergedthrough the ground behind him. I gasped and shouted, "Look out!" but before he could turn, one of the creatures slammed full force into his back, sending him crashing into a brick wall. The blonde's limp body fell to the ground unconscious. "Roxas!" I called, but was cut off by an intense pain in my left shoulder. One of the monsters had sliced into my shoulder using its razor-sharp canines. I screamed in pain as a searing hot fluid filled my body. The creature threw me to the ground. I struggled to pull myself up, and my gaze met a pair of glowing crimson eyes. A low growl rumbled through the creature's chest as it slowly stalked over to me. Every fiber of my being was telling me to run, but my muscles were frozen in place. I was momentarily broken from my paralysis by sharp yelps of pain. I turned my head to see that Roxas was conscious and had killed one of the creatures. He and the other beast were now circling each other like a pair of fighting lions. The creature lunged and Roxas plunged his sword deep in the monster's chest, killing it instantly. My attention was brought back to the beast in front of me as it snarled viciously and launched itself at me. I braced myself, expecting intense pain, but was met only by the sound of another pained yelp. I opened my eyes and saw that Roxas had sliced clean through the monster's mid-section.

Roxas panted in exhaustion and fell to his knees. "You okay?" I asked, still unable to move. I don't know why I was paralized, the monster hadn't hit me anywhere near my spine.

"Yeah," he panted, "What about you?"

"It got my shoulder pretty good, but other than that, I seem to be okay."

"Well that's too bad." We whipped our heads around and saw a young man standing in the shadows, the darkness obscuring his face. "We'll just have to fix that then." The mysterious man emerged from the shadows, revealing spiky black hair and piercing, almost animalistic yellow eyes. I now realized why Roxas had reacted the way he did the first time he met Sora. This guy couldn've been his twin. His gaze turned from me to Roxas, then back to me. "Well little brother," his voice sent chills down my spine, "It seems you've found yourself a pet." He slowly stalked toward me. Two more men appeared from the shadows. One was tall and muscular, built similar to Zack and about the same height, except his hair was long and brown. The other man looked exactly like Roxas, even more so than Cloud, only he was like an older version of him. I turned my attention back to the man in front of me, still unable to move.

Before he was able to get too close, Roxas jumped in front of me, pointing his blade threateningly at the dark haired stranger. The older male simply laughed. "Oh please, you're no threat to me," he pointed at Roxas's abdomen, "You're already wounded. You can barely stand, let alone hold your sword." I glanced over at the small blonde and noticed that he was shiking violently. Roxas growled at him, repositioning his stance a little. "You did well your first time. I thought for certain you'd be dead by now. But I guess I wasn't too far off, judging by the amount of blood coming from your injuries." A small pool of blood formed on the ground in front of Roxas. The dark haired male's gaze landed back on me. "You like it?" he directed his question toward me, "Venom from the Akukage. From a creature that weak though, the most it will do is temporarily paralyze its victim."

He began advancingand Roxas stepped in front me defensively. The two other men were now standing behind the darker haired male on either side of him. "You stay away from him!" Roxas snarled. The golden eyed male just smiled devilishly.

"Ive already told you, you're no match for me the way you are now." He turned and motioned to the two men. "Take them both," he ordered and held out his palm. Suddenly, what looked like a large dark hole formed in front of him.

"No! You're not taking him!" Roxas yelled. The older blonde simply stood in front of him and grabbed his wrist, forcing him to drop his sword which vanished in a flash of light. Using his other arm he thrust something into Roxas's stomach. A horribly pained expression twisted on the smaller blonde's face and a small pool of blood gushed from his mouth. The larger blonde withdrew his arm revealing a large knife dyed crimson with the other's blood. His gasping breaths sounded like gurgled heaves, blood flowed from his mouth and the gaping wound in his abdomen.

I felt my heart shatter. "Roxas!" I cried as the larger blonde scooped him up. I could feel myself being lifted as well and noticed it was the large brunette. We entered the dark portal, my vision becoming blurry due to the loss of blood. I kept my eyes on Roxas until I finally slipped into unconsciousness.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

When I awoke, I found myself lying on a cold stone floor. It was dark, but I was able to make out that I was in some sort of dungeon. The air was cold and reeked of a mixture of mold blood and rotting flesh. I had realized that my mobility had returned as I began to shiver and curled myself into a ball, wrapping my arms around my knees. However, the motion sent a wave of pain crashing over me due to the gaping wound in my shoulder. Cringing I grabbed the wound and quickly ripped off my shirt and made a makeshift tourniquet.

I scanned the room until my eyes fell on something that made my heart stop.

"Roxas!" I gasped, scrambling over to the blonde's limp body. It appeared that someone had just carelessly tossed him in the corner like some piece of garbage. He was lying on his stomach, his limbs contorted in various positions. His face was submerged in a lake of his own blood. I knelt to the ground and slowly lifted his body onto my lap, carefully placing his head against my chest. The slight, quick movements of his chest told me that he was still alive, but just barely.

"You shouldn't waist your time on him," a monotone voice echoed behind me. I gasped and turned to see the older blonde from before, the one that had stabbed Roxas.

"Which one are you, Ventus or Vanitas?" I growled harshly.

"Ventus," he replied calmly and strolled over to where I knelt. Roxas coughed weakly, blood dripping from his mouth. I leaned my body protectively over the small blonde, glaring at Ventus as he approached. "Don't worry, we still need him."

"So why did you do THIS to him?!" I snarled, guesturing to the gash in Roxas's abdomen. "How could you do something like this to your brother?! He loved you and you betrayed him! What kind of MONSTER are you?!"

The older male sighed, then looked back at me apathetically, "We need him in his Tenshi form right now, and the fastest way to achieve that is to kill his makeshift human body. He was going to die regardless, we just sped up the process." All I could do was growl at him. Roxas's breathing became slower and farther in between. "Well," he sighed, "I guess I'd better do this before Vanitas gets irritated."

"What do you mean?" I asked stupidly.

"I was sent down here to finish him and knock you out if you had woken up. Then I was supposed to take him upstairs."

"You're not killing him!" I snarled, but before I could even blink, a knife had flown passed me and pierced Roxas in the heart. His breathing immediately stopped and there was no pulse. He was dead. I stared in horror at the lifeless body curled up in my arms, not able to say a word. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head and everything went black.

(Roxas POV)

When I woke up, I was back in the Dark Realm in my Tenshi form. My wounds from before were completely healed despite the blood dripping from my wrists and ankles caused by the rusty chains that bound me to a stone wall. This wasn't good. Lack of pain always meant an enormous dose later, especially if I'm in this room in this position.

_Axel_! I suddenly remembered he had been taken with me into the Dark Realm. But where was he?

"So, you're awake," A bone chilling voice racked my body.

"Vanitas," I whispered, eyes wide.

"Ah, you remember me. I'm so flattered." The golden eyed male stalked toward me and cupped his hand to my face. "I figured you forgot about me, what with your little trip to the human world and all." He gently traced his fingers down my jaw line and neck.

"What are you trying to do?" I growled as he pulled away.

"Why, whatever do you mean?" he asked 'innocently', batting his eyelashes.

"Why are you releasing so many Akukage into the human world and why are you killing so many people?"

Out of nowhere, he pressed himself against me and ran his tongue all the way up my face. He then pulled away so that the tips of our noses were just barely touching. "You remember my special ability?" he whispered lustfully.

"Yes," I replied hesitantly.

"How does that affect your plan?" Pain suddenly shot through my face as he punched me. I gasped and spat out the blood that had pooled in my mouth. He turned swiftly and took a few steps away.

"Devouring humans vastly increases the power of the Akukage, but there aren't nearly enough humans in that pathetic little Twilight Town, or Hollow Bastion to feed my army. That's where you come in."

I glared at him suspiciously, "Haven't you already tried this before."

"Yes, but back then our powers were weak. Now it's different. I will use our power and tear open the wall that separates our two dimensions. I will poses the human world, the Dark Realm, and all the creatures residing in each!" I gasped. My mind flashed to all my friends in the human world. If he succeded, they would all be killed. "Unfortunately, I need to wait a little longer before my plans can be realized. Which means I can't risk having you running off again." He smiled maliciously.

Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in my abdomen as he delivered a swift kick to my stomach. He quickly combined it with a blow to the face and several to my chest. Blow after blow caused my body to scream out in pain. Bones snapped, ribs shattered and I'm positive I began bleeding internally. He always took the opportunity when I lacked injuries, to ensure he did as much damage possible. Vanitas stopped for a moment and allowed me to catch my breath, before landing a right hook to the side of my face. I heard something crack as his fist made contact with my jaw. The coppery taste of blood filled my mouth, and it dripped down the side of my face. Enjoying the sight of my blood, he traded his fists for a knife and began slashing at my chest until the front of my shirt was drenched in blood. Then, he embedded the knife deep into my shoulder until I could feel the blade dig into the connecting joint in my wing. The dark haired male left the knife in, pinning me to the wall, then grabbed my right forearm. He laughed as he slammed it into the wall with incredible force, causing the bone to snap in two. He then repeated the action with my wing. The small room was filled with the sound of my screaming as the pain coursed through my body.

He stopped for a moment, and I knew what was coming next. He ripped the shirt straight from my body and began running his tongue across the gashes in my chest. At the same time, he used one hand to undo the buttons on my pants while the other found its way into my boxers. Despite being blinded by pain and racked with agony, I could distinctly feel everything he was doing. The hand in my boxers began to slowly massage my member. He tore off his pants and began to do the same. Once his pants were removed, his free hand migrated to my chest. He began to claw at my chest, his nails leaving deep, bloody gashes. I suddenly felt myself being penetrated as he shoved his fingers inside me. I cried out in pain as he added another finger, ripping me open from the inside. My blood filled me and he laughed at the sight of my pain. As soon as he was certain there was enough blood, he replaced his fingers with his own member. The lack of lubrication coupled with the various cuts left me shrieking in agony. The shaft went deeper and my pain became more intense. The hand that was creating new cuts returned to old ones and began retracing their path. Each thrust opened up more wounds and I became dizzy with the loss of blood.

After what seemed like hours, Vanitas finally stopped and undid the chains. My body lacked the neccessary energy to stand and I collapsed to the floor, unable to move but still fully concious. He reaplied the clothes he had torn off, all except for my shirt which was in tatters. Vanitas threw me back into the dungeon and laughed maniacly taunting, "This is what happens when you run away from home dog! You will do well to remember who's the pet and who's the master!" I had lost so much blood, it became physically imposible to stay awake. The last thing I saw before I passed out was Axel's limp body lying next to me. _Axel._

(Axel POV)

My vision slowly came into focus and my head throbbed. I groaned and slowly sat up, instantly realizing that the gash in my shoulder had vanished as I my movements warrented no pain. Gazing around the room, my eyes fell on on my blue-eyed angel leaning against a nearby wall. I gasped in horror as I took in the new condition of his body. Instead of one gash blood now flowed from several deep cuts all over his body. The majority of the new injuries were located on his chest and it bled profusely. A large hole in his shoulder resembled the one in his abdomen from before, and his wing and right arm hung limply at his side. I realized then that both had been broken. His face was swollen and discolored. Bruises covered his entire body and blood stained his golden hair. I had also noticed he had a large blood stain on his crotch. _No. Don't tell me they raped him too. _I was filled with an incredible sense of rage and sadness. It was all I could do to keep myself from breaking down the door and killing them all. _How could they?! How could those BASTARDS do this to thier own brother?!_

Roxas's eyelids began to flutter open and he slowly turned his head toward me. An exhausted smile spread across his face and he said in a low voice, "You're awake. Are you feeling okay?" _How can he ask something like that?! _I asked myself angerly, _How can he just sit there smiling and ask about my well being knowing full well that he's the only one suffering?! _His expression changed to one of worry and I felt something warm and wet run down my face. Rubbing my eyes, I found that I'd been crying. The small blonde moved over and leaned against me. I reached over and swiftly, but gently pulled him onto my lap, then embraced him, burying my face in his soft spikes.

I tried my hardest, but I couldn't help the pathetic whimbers that escaped me as I cried for my blonde. "What happened to you?" I sobbed quietly.

He paused for a moment before whispering, "Vanitas." That was all he had to say for me to understand. "I was able to find out Vanitas's plan." Roxas's tone was serious.

"What is it?" I asked, suprised.

"I didn't get all the details, but I know enough."

He explained Vanitas's plan and told me that I had to contact Zack and Cloud immediatly and make sure they knew. After that I was supposed to make sure everyone got prepaired, and get Riku to open a passageway into the Dark Realm where the battle was supposed to be fought.

"I'm sorry, but I can't come with you back to the human world," Roxas sighed guiltily.

"Wait, why not?!" I asked, shocked.

"I don't have the strength to survive the trip. Vanitas made sure of that. But I do have the energy to send you back."

"No!" I protested, "I won't leave here unless you're with me!" He wrapped his arm around my neck and pressed his soft lips against mine, effectively shutting me up.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I want so badly to come with you, but I just don't have the strength. Besides, if I stay here, that may give you and the others just enough time to prepair yourselves."

"Okay," I finally agreed, "but let me stay here with you a while longer."

"Axel." His tone was almost inaudible.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

He curled up in my lap and laid his head against my chest. I smiled and kissed his forehead. "I love you too."

Eventually, the small blonde fell asleep. It was then that I was able to see how much pain he was actually in. He'd been covering it up pretty well while he was awake, but in his unconcious state, his bravado melted away. He would cringe with every breath, and let out small whimpers of pain every once in a while. I ran my hand through his hair and whispered to him in a low voice, hoping that somehow I would be able to distract him from the pain he was in.

I hadn't realized I'd fallen asleep until I opened my eyes and pulled myself off the floor. I quickly scanned the room in a panic. Roxas was nowhere to be found. The last time he was taken, he wound up bloodied and bruised. "Roxas?...Roxas?!" I called frantically.

"Axel it's okay. Calm down." Roxas slowly limped down the staircase that Ventus had used before. As he neared the bottom step, he appeared to momentarily lose conciousness and fell. I quickly dashed over and caught him before he hit the ground.

"What were you doing?" I asked, setting him down so he leaned against the wall.

"Eavesdropping," the blonde replied with a smirk. "You guys will have about three days to get ready before he begins his attack. I've got to send you back now before they come down here."

I sighed and nodded. The last thing I wanted to do was leave him here alone but I knew I had no choice. I gently embraced him, then pressed my lips to his. We pulled away, and then he pressed his hand to my chest. It began to glow and soon, my whole body shone with a strange, heavenly light. The last thing I saw was a tear stream down my blonde's face.

I found myself face down in a bed of soft grass. A little dizzy, I picked myself up and found that I was back in the human world in the park by my favorite bench. The sun had set and the sky was filled with stars. For a moment I just sat there, admiring the sight that I had last witnessed with my little blonde. The thought of him sent an immense pain ripping through my chest. Holding back the tears, I slowly made my way down the hill toward my apartment. I showed absolutely no emotion when I pushed the door open, I was too tired both physically and emotionally to feel anything.

"Axel!" Demyx cried as he leapt off the couch and tackle-glomed me, sending us both crashing to the floor. "Where've you been?! We've been so worried about you! You've been missing for three whole days, we thought something terrible happened to you." The blonde sat up and started glancing around the room. I sat up and rubbed my now throbbing head. Demyx helped me to my feet, then asked worriedly, "Where's muffin?" The question sent a sharp jolt of agony through my heart.

Zexion walked up behind me and gently placed his hand on my shoulder. "Axel, tell us what happened," the lilac haired male spoke softly.

"Alright," I uttered sadly, but then the memory of what Roxas had told me flashed through my mind. "Wait, where's a phone?!" I darted into the kitchen and frantically searched for my cherry red cell phone. "Zack and Cloud need to hear this, a-and so do Riku and Sora."

For the next two hours we waited for Zack and Cloud. Riku and Sora showed up about twenty minutes after I called them. Everyone bombarded me with questions, but I only told them what I felt like sharing, and that wasn't a lot. The explanation consisted of, 'Well, Vanitas came and kidnapped us, Roxas found out his plan, and now I'm back here so leave me alone'. Thankfully they honored my wishes and left me to myself. I took the time to shower and change. The shirt I was wearing had been torn by the Akukage's fangs, and both my shirt and my pants had been completely drenched in mine and Roxas's blood. While I was in the bathroom, I examined the part of my shoulder where the Akukage bit me, but there wasn't even a scar. Roxas's powers were amazing.

As soon as Zack and Cloud arrived, everyone sat around in the living room and listened intently as I began my explanation. I made sure that the very first thing I told them was Vanitas's plan, then I went into the details of mine and Roxas's capture and what happened while we were confined. I also told them that Roxas had been injured to the point that he wouldn't be able to return to the human world on his own. However, I left the parts out about Roxas's human body being killed and then him being raped and beaten. When I got to the part about Vanitas mastering his ability, the three Tenshi gasped. The humans looked at each other, confused and waited for an explanation.

"Shit," Riku murmered.

"W-what, what does that mean?" Sora asked frantically, clutching Riku's sleeve.

"It means," Cloud sighed, "that Vanitas will actually be capable of acheiving his plans."

"How?" Zexion questioned calmly, in contrast to practically everyone else in the room, "What exactly is his ability?"

"He can take full control of another being by infusing it with dark power," Zack growled angerly, "It's kind of like the Akukage's venom, but once it spreads through the body, Vanitas has complete access to all of your powers."

"He intends to use this ability to take control of Roxas," Riku continued, "He wants to use both his and Roxas's powers to open a permanent hole between the human world and the Dark Realm. Then he'll use Roxas to revive humans sacrificed to the Akukage in mass numbers so that they can vastly increase their strength. Once his army is strong enough, no one will be able to challenge him. Vanitas will take full reign of both the human world and the Dark Realm."

Now I knew why Roxas had left that part of his explanation out. He knew that if he had told me Vanitas would do something like that to him, I would refuse to leave. The little blonde was right of course. I wouldn't have let them do that to him without first prying him from my cold, dead hands.

"Alright!" Zack exclaimed, jumping to his feet with a determined expression on his face, "Over the next couple of days, we'll be prepairing you for battle!" he motioned to each of the humans. "We'll be showing you the proper techniques used to destroy an Akukage, hopefully none of you will have to. However, all us Tenshi will be fighting other Tenshi, and it would be a great conviniece to us if we didn't have to worry about you." Zack's demiener reminded me how he used to be an army general, the way he commanded us with such vigor. "It would also help if you COULD wipe out some Akukage. Therefore, your training starts tomorrow. You will all meet me in the forest in front of the old mansion."

With that, Zack, Cloud, Sora, and Riku headed home. I went upstairs and opened my closet, pulling out random crap until I found what I was looking for; my chakrams. They were my absolute favorite weapon of choice, and helped to satisfy my inner pyro. Along with my chakrams, I found my flame retardant gloves and my special fuel that could easily burn for hours with a single dose. I smiled inwardly at the thought of tearing those creatures apart and lighting them on fire. Those bastards were going to get the full brunt of my fury; the creatures of the man who had injured my little blonde so badly. I was out for blood, and no one was going to stop me from getting my blue-eyed angel back.

* * *

Hey, sorry I really haven't said anything. This is my first story so I'm kinda new at, well, everything.

but if you guys give me some feedback it would really help. just any questions or comments. I'd like to know if you guys like the story so I know whether to keep writing or not!

It would be a big help. Thanks ;D


	9. Chapter 9

Review plz! They make me happy.

Also need u's guys input on the story so fars. THANKS!

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Chapter 9

(Roxas POV)

The only thing I can clearly remember was sending Axel back to the human world, and then passing out immediatly afterward. When I woke up, I was lying face down in a pool of blood. I tried to pick myself up but the movement made me dizzy, so I just remained in the position I was in. Wave upon wave of intense pain crashed throughout my entire body. After a while, I managed to push myself into a sitting position. I grimaced and tightly gripped my throbbing chest with my working arm in a feeble attempt to relieve some of the pain.

Vanitas's punishments were normally around this level of severity. It would always start out with physical assult. Breaking bones, shattering ribs, bruises; those were the main products of each beating. However, he would eventually become bored and switch to slicing me open, usually with a knife. The sight of my blood turned him on, as well as the sound of my screaming, so right as I'm on the verge of passing out, he would switch his punishment from beating to rape. That was his favorite method of torture, and the only thing I feared when he had me chained in that room. Nothing else frightened me as much as that, and I would pray each time that he would leave that part of the punishment out. But that was never the case.

I knew that the only thing I could do now was try and stop the bleeding. That was going to be difficult though, seeing as he kept my shirt which I could've used as a turniquet. Hewever since I didn't have it, I just had to resort to applying pressure and hoping that it would stop. My breathing became strained as blood filled my lungs. It was all I could do just to keep myself awake. Suddenly my ears were assulted by a loud crash as the door flung open. There were a few footsteps descending the stairs, followed by a voice that terrified me almost as much as Vanitas's.

"Hey, shit-face!" I crouched to the ground and shut my eyes tightly, hoping he would see I was still too injured to mess with and leave. It was Terra. The large male sauntered down the stairs. "I brought your shirt." He threw the wad of clothing at my face. I remained perfectly still. Terra had been Vanitas's lacky while they were alive. He always followed him everywhere and did whatever he was told. I could never tell if it was out of love, fear or admiration. Eventually he had become Vanitas's right hand man and had say in all disicions, and it also meant that he had access to me as well, whenever Vanitas allowed it. Terra was a lot rougher than Vanitas, but almost never drew blood.

Before leaving, the large brunette delivered a few swift kicks to my chest and stomach, causing the wounds that had just started to close to reopen. A pool of blood gushed from my mouth and I started to have a coughing fit. He simly laughed and kicked me one more time before returning upstairs.

I could hear the door slam again as I lay cringing on the ground, clutching my chest and stomach. My wing and arm drug limply on the ground as I sat up, still trying to recover from the brief beating I just took.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some sort of pathetic child. In fact, I used to be the strongest Tenshi in the Dark Realm, as well as the most skilled fighter. That is, until my brothers came. Vanitas and I fought for days, both of us pretty evenly matched. I was about to finish him off and finally earn my freedom when Terra and Ventus interfiered. All three tag teamed me, beating me until I was incapable of movement, let alone capable of fighting back. Since then, Vanitas has kept me here, starving me and beating me so there's absolutely no chance of my revolting against him. However, he still needs my power. I'm a necessity to him. Therefore, he is not all powerful. That's why he wants to control me, that's why he's been spending all this time mastering his power, and that's why I'm still alive.

The door slammed again, and I quickly returned to crouching on the ground. "Vanitas wants you," Terra growled in annoyance. He didn't like that I was Vanitas's favorite, so he hated to be the one to tell me it was time for another 'session'.

I tried to stand, but the pain shot through my body, causing me to crumple back to the floor. _No. Stand up. You have to stand up! _I commanded myself. If I took too long, I ran the possibility of Terra or even Vanitas coming down and 'making me' stand. There was no way I was going to let that happen.

After another few minutes of struggling, I finally managed to pull myself up. I limped slowly toward the door, each step causing excruciating pain and the coppery taste in my mouth to become all the more present. By some grace of god I managed to make it up the staircase. Gradually, I made my way to the room where Vanitas usually delivered my punishments. It was the same room where he mercilessly tortured and raped me for the past two hundred years, as well as the sight where he ripped my wing straight from my back.

I collapsed on the floor, knowing I had a few minutes before Vanitas showed up. After years of torture, he realized that with severe beatings came longer amounts of time for me to do menial tasks like getting up the stairs. So after a thrashing like this, it was no wonder he would give me a longer amount of time than usual.

I cherished the few moments that I was able to lay on the floor. However, it all ended when a set of footsteps entered the room.

I made a feutal attempt to stand, but was quickly cut off as I was violently yanked to my feet by the back of the neck. I screamed in agony, as my body was forcefully turned so that my blue eyes met hard gold.

"Well brother, I have some good news for you," Vanitas smiled, shoving me into the wall, which warranted another scream of pain. "As of tonight, all of your suffering will end. I'm going to rip your humanity from you, turning you into my slave." The dark haired man stalked toward me, a malicious and deviant smile painted across his face.

His golden eyes glowed with the malevolence of only someone who has intentionally taken a life, and enjoyed it. He took my face in his hand and licked off the blood that was flowing from my mouth. Pulling away slightly, he whispered in a seductive voice, " Too bad. I'm going to miss this. You're a lot more fun when you scream. Oh well, I'll just have to make the most of this then."

With one hand he held me against the wall, while the other tensed at his side. It looked like a viper poised to strike. The hand at his side began to radiate some sort of dark energy, then a thick black liquid began to drip from his fingertips.

"Don't worry brother," he laughed maniacally, "it won't kill you. But it will hurt, I guarantee it."

With one swift movement, his hand embedded into my abdomen, almost going all the way through. A mass of blood gushed from my mouth. He removed both his hands and stood back, watching me as I collapsed on the floor. My shrieks of agony filled the room. An incredible wave of coldness and pain racked my body. With every beat of my heart, both the cold and the pain increased. I grasped at my stomach and continued to scream as blood gushed from my body. Vanitas simply stood and watched, looking quite pleased with himself. The pain seemed to last for hours, my breathing became very labored as blood filled my lungs and it became harder to get oxygen. I could feel my strength draining with each breath. The last thing I saw before I was consumed by the darkness were Vanitas's malicious golden eyes. His horrid laughter rang through every fiber of my being.

I closed my eyes, and before my conciousness was shattered I whispered to myself, _I'm sorry Axel, I'm so sorry._

(Axel POV)

The last two days have consisted of training, eating, sleeping, some writing, and more training. I'll have to admit though, Zack is a pretty good instructor. I can see why they considered his unit the best in the U.S army. In no time at all, he turned us from a bunch of panzies into Akukage killing machines. Even Demyx and Sora! I never knew they had the ability to kill a fly, let alone 200 Akukage, which, by the way, is the number we were required to kill in each session.

Riku came along to each meeting and would help out with the training. Because he kinda' sorta' had power over darkness, he could summon and control some of the weaker Akukage. I gotta say, kid's full of suprises.

Zexion had found some spells in his Lexicon that he could use to destroy Akukage. I didn't think it would work until he blasted one away with a water spell, which Demyx seemed to thuroughly enjoy. My favorite was when he created these fire pillars that shot up through the ground, instanly vaporizing any living thing that got too close to him.

Demyx had his Heckler & Koch MG36 (a freaking awesome machine gun). When he was fighting, he was like a completely different person. It reminded me of Jekyll and Hyde.

Sora suprised me with a sword. I figured he wouldn't be able to hold the thing up, much less fight with it, but he completely blew me away with his bad ass fighting skills. Riku must've taught him some tricks, because that kid's too good to have learned all that on his own.

Over all, we were pretty awesome.

However, any time I wasn't distracting myself with training or eating, my mind would always focous back to Roxas, instantly making me depressed no matter how good a mood I was in. I just knew that they were doing something terrible to him, and all I wanted to do was go there and kick the crap out of his brothers. None the less, I was powerless to do anything. Riku refused to open a portal for me which was probably a good idea on his part, saying that we would go when we're ready, and leaving it at that.

Today we were supposed to take the time to rest and make any last minute preparations, because tonight, we were goin to war. The only thing I felt like doing was lying in bed and occasionially, the couch whenever I became bored of finding patterns in the ceiling.

Demyx and Zexion had felt the need to indulge their desires. For about FOUR HOURS! Four hours of grunting, moaning, panting and numerous other nioses that I can't even describe! How the HELL can they go for THAT long?! You'd think they'd need to rest every once in a while, but NO! All I could do was try my hardest to ignore them, and eventually go downstairs and blast the t.v on full volume. It helped, but there was nothing good on, so I just decided to grab some coffee and a bite to eat.

I decided to walk instead of taking my bike. It was a nice day, the weather was sunny and warm. I tried my best to enjoy it, but all I could manage to think about was Roxas. It was mostly good things like the night I took him to the park and we shared our first kiss. Also the way he reacted to the iphone in the mall, and when he sang in the car and he got embarrased.

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as I walked into the coffee shop. Blinking back the tears, I strolled up to the counter. A girl with dirty blonde hair was standing behind the counter. Her name tag read 'Steph', probably short for Stephanie. Speaking of short, she looked like she was twelve, but she had to have been older than that since she was working here. If Zexion was straight I could introduce them. He'd probably be happy with someone who isn't twice his height. "Hello," she said, smiling sweetly, "What will you be having today?"

"I'll have a kona coffee," I responded. When I didn't get an answer, I looked back down at her and found that she was gawking at me with a quizzical expression. "Um..."

Her face suddenly lit up as she had one of those, 'Ah ha' moments. "You're Axel Turk aren't you!" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Uh, yeah," I replied, smiling.

"I knew it!" She squealed and literally hopped over the counter. She grabbed my hands and began bouncing up and down, "I love your work, absolutely LOVE IT. Esspecially your 'Boys Love' novels! The sex scenes are amazing!" She reminded me of a cross between Demyx and Sora. It made me giggle internally. "Could you sign my book?" She quickly whipped out one of my recent 'Boys Love' novels, one I had based off of Demyx and Zexion.

"Of course," I laughed. She squeed and handed me a pen. I smiled and handed it back to her, "Here you go. It's nice to meet someone who loves my work so much."

"Thank you," she took the book back and hugged it against her chest. "This one's my fav. But, I especially loved the one with Riku and Sora. You should totally do another one with those two."

"I'll keep that in mind, but my next one has a few new characters. I think you'd enjoy it."

"I'll make sure to get it as soon as it comes out." She took my name and I sat down at a table to wait for my order.

When it arrived, I took it and headed down to the park. It was still daylight when I got there (I learned my lesson not to stay outside after dark). I sat down on my favorite bench, taking a big swig of the sweet smelling liqiud I had purchased. Eventually though, I started to think about Roxas again, only this time, the memories didn't stay good for long. The memory of his trip to my school blended with how his wounds had opened and we figured out that his body was failing. That led to the memory of when we had been kidnapped and Roxas had been killed, which then led to numerous images of his broken and bruised, blood soaked body. Jolts of pain shot through my heart as the memories flooded back to me. I couldn't take it anymore. I tossed my still half full cup of coffee into the trash and headed home.

By the time I had gotten home, it was about a half hour before our designated meeting time when we were to go to the Dark Realm. I found Demyx and Zexion in the living room prepairing for battle. The mullhawked male was polishing his gun and had apparently found all of the ammo he could lay his hands on. Zexion was busy writing spells on pieces of paper while chanting incantations in a low voice, his Lexicon sittling on the table beside him.

"Hey, Ax!" Demyx chirped when he saw me, "Where've ya been?"

"Just out on a coffee run," I answered apathetically, closing the door behind me and taking my shoes off. "You ready?"

"Yus!" The blonde shouted holding his gun triumphantly into the air, but then lowering it as his expression dropped. "I-I think." I laughed and walked over to the stairs. "What about you Ax?"

I turned and smiled at the innocent looking blonde. "I will be, as soon as I grab my chakrams."

After putting on my gloves and retrieving my chakrams, plus my feul and lighter, I returned downstairs and found Riku and Sora sitting on the couch chatting with Demyx.

"Hi Axel!" Sora turned so that just his head was sticking above the couch.

"Hey spazz." I strode over and leaned against the back of the couch.

Riku craned his neck to look at me and said, "Zack and Cloud said they'd be here in about ten minutes. You ready?"

"Yep," I answered, absentmindedly twirling my chakrams in my hands. Eventually, Zack and Cloud arrived.

"Alright," Zack began in his military general tone, "Riku's going to put us on the cliffs that run perpendicular to the mountains looking over the canyon. From there, we will be completely undetectable by Vanitas and the Akukage, so we'll be able to land an ambush attack. Vanitas is going to put his army in that canyon, because it's the easiest access point to the human world. We need to get him before he can send one of his lackeys over here, so they won't be able to open the up a permanent portal. Riku," he turned his attention toward the silverette, "you're going after..."

"Ventus," the teen replied calmly.

"And Cloud?"

"I'm providing assistance to anyone who needs it, or I'm going after any back up or unexpected help they have."

"Very good," Zack smiled sweetly at his boyfriend. "And I'm going after Terra."

"Wait a minute," Demyx cut in, "What about Vanitas?" Zack, Cloud and Riku's faces instantly dropped.

Cloud spoke up first. "None of us are strong enough to fight him."

"Then who is?" Zexion asked.

Riku sighed, "The only one who IS strong enough to fight him is... Roxas."

The sound of the blonde's name made my heart sink and my gaze fall to the floor. The room fell silent for a moment until it was broken by Sora, who said something that amazed us all.

"Well then, we'll just have to take him back from those bastards," the brunette exclaimed, determination dominating his face. Riku looked at his boyfriend with a stunned expression. I'd never heard the little guy swear before.

"Sora's right!" I added, "the only way we're gonna win is to get Roxas back."

"Alright then, so it's decided," Zack stepped foreward, "Our first priority is rescuing Roxas."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Riku turned and held out his palm, opening a dark passageway. "Everyone ready?" the silverette asked. We all nodded then stepped into the darkness, ready for anything the Dark Realm had to throw at us.

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Sorry, mostly a filler chapter.

Like I said before, please Review!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The Dark Realm was much like I remembered it from my dream. Ultimately barren, inky black sky despite the sun, and reeking of death and decay. Only this time, however, instead of being in the canyon I was on top of the cliffs that overlooked it. It surprised me to find a lush forest up here.

The grass and leaves were light blue and seemed to glow with the lack of light, and hundreds of what looked to be fireflies flew listlessly through the trees. The sight was really quite beautiful. It may even have been enough to rival the sunset in Twilight Town.

We all snuck over to the edge of the cliff and peered over the edge. The sight that was laid before me almost made my heart stop. "Shit," Zack uttered as he gazed at the land. The canyon was permeated with a thick darkness that completely blanketed the land. Upon closer inspection, the dark mass was composed of thousands of Akukage.

At the very middle of the conglomeration, there sat a rather extravagant black carriage being pulled by a team of creatures similar to the Akukage. Hovering above either side of the carriage were the two men from before. I could only assume that they were Terra and Ventus.

"Damn," Riku whispered, obviously irritated, "There's far more than I thought there'd be."

"Well what'd you expect?" Zack grunted, "It's Vanitas."

"Regardless," Cloud interjected, "This puts the humans at a much greater risk. Without Roxas, we'll need to be wary of our safety. We can't just charge in."

"This doesn't affect our strategy in the long run," Zack sighed, "Our main priority now is to find and rescue Roxas."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Alright, we'll open a hole in their defenses allowing the humans a safe access point where they'll begin their assault on the Akukage. Once we do that, we'll all track down and destroy our designated targets. The fight will provide enough of a distraction for Cloud to locate and rescue our little friend."

"I'm going with Cloud," I demanded.

The older blonde seemed to contemplate the idea for a moment before nodding. "Alright, you'll come with me."

"Good, so everyone knows what they're doing?" The raven-haired male asked, smirking confidently. Everyone nodded. "Well then let's go!"

"YEAH!" We all shouted in unison, even Zexion looked fired up.

With that each of the Tenshi launched into the sky. Cloud remained on the ground for a moment, "Stay here and help them for a moment. I'll access the situation then come back an get you." The older blonde flew off toward the direction of the carriage.

Zack stopped in mid air in front the mass of Akukage. The raven-haired male thrust his palm forward, causing numerous rock spears to fly out from the ground, crushing and skewering a large majority of the dark creatures. That was our cue to go. We quickly made our way to the path that led down to the canyon, while watching the battle between the Tenshi unfold before us.

A moment after Zack had begun the attack, Terra was immediantly on top of the raven haired male, the two thrashing violently in the air. Thier swords clashed, causing sparks to rain down almost like fireworks. Both Tenshi were pretty evenly matched. Zack's buster sword was about the same size as Terra's large, cleaver like blade, and Terra appeared to be just as large and well toned. The only real difference between the two was that Zack's enourmous, black wings were a bit smaller than Terra's broad, chocolate colored one's. It was obvious that Terra had more experience with arial battles than the raven haired male, the way he was flying circles around him.

Ventus shot through the air like a bullet, ready to assist his comrade. The blonde was quickly cut off, however, by Riku, who slammed into him. This sent Ventus careening into the side of a cliff. The male quickly recovered, and countered by creating a large twister that forced the silverette to retreat momentarily.

Both pairs of Tenshi battled feverously.

Finally it was our time to shine as several Akukage appeared at the opening to the canyon. Demyx leapt forward and began to shoot, almost randomly, into the pack. Gunning most of them down, then quickly jumping back, allowing Sora and I to step in without risk of being shot. His assault had given me enough time to smear the feul on my chakrams and light them on fire. The brunette and I sprinted toward the creatures, slicing them open with percision and accuracy. To anyone watching, it would have looked as though we were just slashing at them randomly, but we were actually aiming for and hitting all of their vital points. Part of our training was to learn were each point was and to be able to hit it, even if we were blindfolded. Zexion hung back, because he only had a limited number of spells and he didn't want to waist them on such a small number of opponents.

When we finally entered the canyon, we were met by a very tired Cloud.

"Vanitas isn't here," the older blonde panted, "but I'm positive Roxas is in that carriage." He knelt down as a sign for me to climb on his back.

I obeyed, then exclaimed, "Let's go!"

The force of the take-off almost knocked me off of Cloud's back, but I regained my composure as we soared higher. Out of nowhere, a large orb of blue fire streaked past us. If it hadn't been for Cloud's quick manuvering, we would've been fried. The attack was a stray blast that Riku had hurled at Ventus, which he, in turn, through back at him. Riku was able to block the attack, but sent it hurling straight at us. The two Tenshi were now clashing swords, creating a voilent storm with powerful wind and black lighting that crashed all around them.

As Cloud and I neared the carriage, the blonde pulled into a nose dive and rocketed toward the ground. He pulled up just in time to avoid colliding with the ground, and landed a few yards away from the vehicle. Almost immediatly as we touched the ground, we were assaulted by a swarm of Akukage. With one fluid movement, Cloud summoned his sword and sheathed it into the ground. The action created several huge pillars of light that erupted from the ground, vaporizing all of the creatures within a hundred feet of us.

"Get going!" the blonde shouted, slashing at the Akukage that hadn't been hit by the blast. I nodded and dashed toward the vehicle. Out of nowhere, the carriage exploded in a huge blast of dark light. The force of the explosion knocked me flat on my back, causing pain to shoot up my spine. I slowly sat up and turned my attention toward the being emerging from the wreckage.

"Roxas!" I shouted and leapt to my feet. I ran toward the blonde, but stopped when I noticed something wasn't right. He stood perfectly still, head hung down against his chest. Two lagre, pitch black wings spread from his back. "Roxas?" I asked nervously, cautiously approaching the blonde. Very slowly, he tilted his head up and opened his eyes. I gasped, horrified at what I saw. His cystal cerulean eyes had been replaced with emotionless, blood red orbs. Dark shadows had formed underneath his eyes. When he looked at me, it felt as though he couldn't see me, like he was looking right trough me.

"Axel, get back!" Cloud commanded. He jumped between me and the little blonde, sword pointed threateningly at Roxas. "Vanitas is controling him. Right now he's very dangerous, it woud be best to keep your distance." Roxas gradually began to stalk toward us, his expression was truely menacing. Cloud thrust his palm forward, creating an enormous pillar of light that engulfed the small blonde. It was instanly dispersed, however, as Roxas countered it with his own dark light. Cloud was thrown back by the force of the blast.

"Cloud!" I called, sprinting to the man's side and maing sure he was okay. Suddenly, the air was filled with the sound of malicious laughter.

Vanitas slowly descended from the heavens, landing next to Roxas. "How do you like my new pet?" The dark haired man asked, placing his hand on Roxas's shoulder.

"What have you done to him?!" I growled, threateningly.

The man wrapped his other arm around the blonde's chest. A terrifying smile spread across his face and he stated, amused, "I simply ripped his humanity from his body and turned him into my slave. He can feel no pain, no emotions. He is now nothing more than a killing machine." Roxas showed no emotion and remained frozen in place as Vanitas seductivly ran his tongue up the side of the blonde's face. The sight made my stomach lurch. I could feel the acid in the back of my mouth.

Blinded by rage, I charged the Tenshi. "YOU BASTARD!!!"

Clearly unphased by the attack, Vanitas simply laughed and commanded Roxas, "Kill them, but save the red head for later. I may want him later." Roxas held out his palm, creating a huge blast of light that sent me flying backwards. I cringed in pain, and looked up to see Vanitas throw his head back and laugh manaically before taking off. My head dropped to the ground with a thud, then everything went dark.

(Cloud POV)

_Great, Axel's unconcious and now I'll have to fight one of the most powerful Tenshi in the world on my own. _

I got to my feet, shakily, and poised my sword defensivly toward Roxas. I was well aware of what the small Tenshi was capable of. We used to fight together before Zack and I left for the human world. I knew that fighting him on my own gave me a very slim chance of survival. The only thing I could do was try and keep him busy for a while, and hope the others could think of something.

I stood my ground as Roxas advanced, but the blonde suddenly vanished. The next thing I knew, there was a searing pain in my left shoulder. Glancing down, I beheld Roxas's white blade sticking out of my chest, stained crimson with my blood. He was so fast, I didn't even see him get behind me. I shrieked in pain as he unsheathed the blade from my chest. Gasping at my wound, I turned to face him, but he had vanished again. Intense pain shot through my stomach as a swift kick was delivered to my abdomen. The kick was immediatly followed by a fist to the face. The force of the blow sent me spiralling to the ground. Quickly recovering, I was met by the sight of Roxas's blade descending rapidly on top of me. I rolled to the side, successfully dodging the blade and pushed myself onto my hands and knees, then launched myself into the sky. Roxas persued me, and sparks flew as our swords clashed.

(Demyx POV)

"Gyaaaaaahhhh!"

I unleashed my full fury on the scary black creatures, that honestly scared me. Never the less, I put on a brave face and charged full force, gun blazing. Zexy and me stood back to back. I heard him chanting spells which were soon followed by a gianormous explosion.

"How ya holdin' up Zexy?!" I called behind me.

"I belive I'm making some progress, and you?!" We had to yell over the sound of the gun shots, the explosions and the growls and snarls of the monsters in order to hear each other.

"Same here!"

Zexion chanted another spell and a huge blast of fire shot through the ground. Pride filled me as I watched Zexion fight. He was mine and no one else's, and it was going to stay that way. I wasn't going to let anyone take him from me, and that included Vanitas and the scary black monsters.

I fired another barrage of bullets into the mass of Akukage. Zexion casted another spell, then turned and smiled tenderly at me. I returned the smile and shouted, "I love you Zexy!"

"I love you too, Dem!"

Suddenly, I was overcome by fear as I watched one of the monsters launch itself at Zexion. His spell had ended, and the Akukage were taking the opportunity to attack him while his back was turned.

"Watch out!" I shouted, pushing my boyfriend out of the way of the incomming fangs and claws. The next thing I knew, there was a searing pain in my chest. Then, everything went black.

(Zexion POV)

"Demyx!" I screamed.

He had shoved me out of the way, leaving himself exposed. The Akukage came down on top of him, slicing his body clean open from the top of his chest to the base of his abdomen. Blood sprayed from the gash and his body fell lifelessly to the ground. I knew he was dead.

The rage and the saddness filled me as I watched my lover get cut down. I grabbed Demyx's gun and charged at the creature. The Akukage saw me advancing and snarled, baring its long, back fangs. Bullets flew from the weapon as I pulled the trigger, instantly killing it. I continued to shoot it in the head, even after it was long dead, my need for revenge far from quenched.

Solmnly, I turned and beheld my fallen lover, tears streaming down my face. He was lying on his back, exposing the gaping wound in his torso. His pale green eyes were still open, capturing the fear and pain he experienced in his last few seconds of life. A lake of blood formed beneath him.

"No...Demyx," I sobbed and fell to my knees.

_This can't be happening. Demyx can't die. HE CAN'T LEAVE ME!! How am I supposed to live without him? Why did he push me out of the way?! Why couldn't he just let me get hit by the attack?! Why did he sacrifice himself?! _I screamed the questions in my head.

Closing his eyes, I cradled the blonde's head in my arms, sobbing quietly.

My attention was snapped back to reality as I was met by a chorus of various roars and snarls comming from the creatures surrounding us. I gently laid Demyx's head down and grabbed my spell book. I stood next to Demyx's body, poised for battle. In one swift movement, all of the creatures lunged at me.

_Demyx, I'll make sure to take down as many of these bastards as possible before I join you. Your death will not be in vain, I promise!_

_

* * *

_

short chapter, I know, I'm sorry

and don't stop reading just because I killed Demyx, I'm going somewhere with this story and I need you to stick with me. I have plans!!!

please review.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

(Sora POV)

"Die!" I shouted, slashing through an Akukage.

I had lost Demyx and Zexion, and Axel was with Cloud, so now I had to fight them all on my own. And they just keep coming! As soon as I took down the last in the pack that had just attacked me, I plopped myself down on the ground. Luckily, the ones that had been attacking me hadn't been very strong.

_Wait a minute; do they think I 'm weak? _I sprung to my feet with newly found determination. _I'll show them who's weak! I'm gonna go find the biggest, strongest Akukage and kill it, that'll show 'em! Oh, hey look, there's Riku._

"Riku!" I smiled as my beautiful silver haired boyfriend soared through the air. But, out of nowhere an older, blonde Tenshi appeared and charged Riku, sword drawn. I would have mistaken the blonde for Roxas, except for the fact that this Tenshi was much older than him, and Roxas would never attack Riku.

The silverette dodged all of the incoming attacks and managed to get a few of his own in as well. I watched proudly as he and the other man battled it out. Riku was truly amazing.

"Ya Riku, get him! Show that jerk whose boss!" I called, throwing my fist into the air. Unfortunately, my little outburst caught the attention of the other Tenshi. He turned his attention away from Riku and came barreling down at me.

_Uh oh._

"Sora!" Riku cried as he rushed after the older male.

_Run! Fight back! Don't just stand there, do something! _But my body was frozen in place. I shut my eyes, bracing myself for an impact of some sort.

When it never came, I slowly opened my eyes. What I saw almost made my heart shatter.

Riku had jumped in between me and the older man's blade just in time to protect me. He stood shielding me, arms out and his back toward me, half of the blade sticking out from his back.

"Riku," I whispered. Blood dripped from his chest and the tip of the sword, forming a small pool at his feet. I dashed over to his side and embraced him, wrapping my arms around his waist. The silverette lowered his arms and grasped the blade, gradually unsheathing it from his chest.

Unable to stomach the blood, I turned my attention to the older male who had retreated a few steps back. The blonde's eyes were cold and hard as he glared at us. I slowly turned back to Riku who was sitting perfectly still, aquamarine eyes never leaving the man in front of us. It looked like the two were having a silent conversation. After a few moments, the older Tenshi turned and flew off, disappearing into the darkness.

Riku collapsed to his knees and clutched the wound in his chest.

"Riku, are you alright?" I knelt down and placed my hand on top of his.

"I'm fine," he replied in a low voice, "Our bodies are built pretty tough. Something like this is just a minor inconvenience." He stood slowly, but his knees buckled underneath him. I was able to catch him before he fell. After regaining his balance, he assured me that he could stand by himself.

"Riku, don't go," I pleaded, clinging to his sleeve. He wrapped his arms around my back and laid his chin on my head.

"I have to," he cooed, kissing my forehead, "They need me to help them fight." He knelt down to my eye level and wiped the tears that began to fall from my face. "I'll be fine, Sora. I promise I'll come back."

I nodded, and he very gently pressed his soft lips to mine, before flying off in the direction the other Tenshi had gone. I took my sword and proceeded through the canyon, cautiously waiting for more Akukage to appear.

_Just don't die on me, Riku. You promised you'd come back._

(Zack POV)

_HOLY SHIT!_

I just barely managed to put up my shield, deflecting a rock spear that shot up from the ground. Terra had found a way to keep me stuck in the air where I couldn't attack him. When I have my barrier up, I can't move or attack. He used that to his advantage by firing spears from the ground, making it so I can't fight back or help my friends. I was practically nothing more than a meat shield right now.

_Goddamit! This stupid son of a bitch is pissing me off!_

I tried once again to retaliate, but as soon as the shield went down, more spears came up. So, back up went the shield. Suddenly, my attention was drawn away from Terra by a huge blast of light. I turned to see Cloud being assaulted by a smaller Tenshi with large, black wings.

"Cloud!" I called as my blonde tried his best to deflect the other's relentless attacks. For a moment, I thought the assailant was Vanitas, the way each blow sent Cloud reeling back. That was when I noticed a small flash of blonde from behind the dark plumage. "Oh shit, that's Roxas," the sight had made me drop my guard, dispelling the barrier.

"Gotcha!" I turned my head just in time to see Terra's fist come in contact with my jaw. The blow sent me plummeting to the ground. I growled and sat up, touching my hand to my face to find out that it was already beginning to swell. "Pay attention to your opponent!" I glanced up and saw Terra barreling toward me, sword poised to strike. I managed to block the attack with my buster sword, just before he skewered me. Applying a hell of a lot of force, I threw the large Tenshi off and jumped to my feet.

"Shit!" I yelled as he came at me again. Our swords clashed and we held that position.

Amidst our little duel of strength, he turned his head back and smiled maliciously. "Heh, looks like your friend's gettin' the crap kicked out of 'em." I turned to see Roxas as he landed a blow with his sword against Cloud's chest. Blood spurted from the gash. The attack was quickly followed by a swift kick to the head, sending the older blonde spiraling to the ground.

"Cloud!" I cried in horror.

"Guess your little boy-toy ain't doin' so hot." I glared at the brunette and stomped my foot on the ground. That created a huge column of rock to shoot up through the earth and sent Terra flying. He landed flat on his back, unconscious.

"Cloud!" I called again, sprinting toward the fallen blonde. Roxas simply hovered above him and watched as I ran to Cloud's side. It almost looked as if the small blonde were waiting for Cloud to recover. "Cloud, are you alright," I asked in a panicked voice, lifting his head. His eyelids fluttered open, then he gazed at me and smiled. The poor guy looked really worn out.

"Hey Zack. Yeah, I'm okay." He gradually sat up; I positioned my arms behind him to catch him if he fell. Clutching his chest, he gazed upward at Roxas and sighed. "Vanitas is controlling Roxas."

"Yeah, I kinda figured that, the way he was attacking you and all." My sarcasm warranted me a glare from my husband.

"There's got to be something we can do to break Vanitas's hold on him." I began to frantically think of ways we could help him. Not only was he our friend, he was also Cloud's brother, and that made him family. I wasn't just gonna stand around and watch him kill all of his friends. Plus, if we didn't save him, Vanitas would be able to take over the human world as well as the Dark Realm.

"Dammit," I growled under my breath, unable to think of anything. Roxas continued to hover patiently above us, crimson eyes watching our every movement.

"Hey!" Both Cloud and I turned to see a very pissed off Terra wiping blood from his face. "You little shits ain't gettin' away with that!" The sight of the angry Tenshi made me chuckle internally. The side of his jaw was swollen and bleeding, he looked about as threatening as the school bully after he's had the crap kicked out of him.

Cloud and I stood, facing our pre-determined opponents with swords at the ready.

"I think I may know a way to get Roxas out of Vanitas's control," Cloud whispered just loud enough so I could hear, "Just keep Terra busy for a while longer, and hopefully I'll be able to get the old Roxas back."

"Alright, just don't get killed."

"Same goes for you," he smirked then flew off.

Terra and I stared each other down for a moment before I charged at him, sword poised to strike. The brunette smiled maliciously then followed suit. We met in the middle and our swords clashed, sending a huge mass of power surging from my sword to my body. I feared that keeping the Tenshi busy wasn't going to be as easy as I first thought.

(Axel POV)

I groaned then slowly rolled on my side, rubbing my throbbing head. It felt like I got hit by a train. I opened my eyes and gradually pushed myself into a sitting position, taking in my surroundings. _That's right, Roxas knocked me out. _Finding that I was alone, I sighed and staggered to my feet, pain shooting up my spine. _Man that kid hits hard!_

Suddenly, a huge blinding light lit up the sky. I turned and spotted Cloud and Roxas. The two Tenshi thrashed violently in the air, each clash of their swords creating enormous bursts of light. Cloud didn't seem to be doing so well. The older blonde had a huge gash across his chest, and his shirt was drenched in blood. Roxas, on the other hand, seemed to be perfectly fine, aside from a few scratches on his face and torso. It was obvious that the smaller blonde was winning.

"Oh shit!" I ducked, just barely avoiding being blown to bits by a stray blast.

At the sound of my outburst, Cloud turned to me and half smiled, half gasped, "Axel!" I was a little confused by his initial shock at seeing me, but went with it.

Releasing a blast of light from his palm, he was able to temporarily paralyze Roxas, sending the smaller Tenshi crashing to the ground. Cloud quickly descended and landed next to me.

"Axel, I don't have much time before the attack wears off," Cloud panted hurriedly, trying to catch his breath. The poor guy looked exhausted. "I have an idea that might bring Roxas back, but I'll need your help." I nodded and gestured for him to continue. "It isn't very well thought out, but if you could talk to him, do something to make him recognize you, that may be enough to spark his conscious. Then, we just hope that he'll have the strength to purify the darkness controlling him."

"Sounds good," I nodded, "but uh, how exactly am I supposed to get close to him without him ripping me apart into little, the artist formally known as Axel, bits?"

Cloud paused for a moment, looking deep in thought. "I could try and stun him again, but you'll need to be ready to jump in when that happens."

"Alright, got it memorized," I gave a thumbs up.

We were suddenly interrupted by an enormous explosion from the direction where Roxas had fallen. The blast was shook the air around us. Cloud and I turned to find Roxas had recovered his mobility. The small blonde looked **very** pissed.

"Okay, get ready," Cloud instructed before charging the smaller Tenshi. The two began slashing wildly at one another. Unfortunately, Cloud was much slower than Roxas, so all the older male could manage to do was block his relentless attacks.

_Oh crap, _I began to panic, _what am I going to say? I can't think of anything! This is bad!_

"Axel!" the sound of Cloud's voice snapped me out of my trance, "Get ready!"

_Wait, I'm not ready yet!_

Using his sword, Cloud shoved the smaller blonde backward. He thrust his palm forward and prepaired to blast him, however, Roxas quickly recovered and knocked Cloud's feet out from under him. The older blonde still managed to release the blast, but not before Roxas sheathed his sword through his heart.

Seeing my cue, I automatically sprinted toward the paralyzed blonde.

"No Axel, don't!" Cloud managed to yell passed the blood that dripped from his mouth, "He'll kill you!" But I just kept running, passing the wounded blonde on the ground.

As I advanced, Roxas glared at me and snarled. The attack might not have made a direct hit, but is was enough do drastically reduce his movements. Acting purly on impulse, I quickly embraced the small blonde, pulling him close to my body. He growled and clawed at my chest. I was fairly positive he was drawing blood with how much it stung. I cringed, but kept my hold on him and whispered, "Roxas, don't do this. You don't have to be his slave. You can fight this!" Roxas growled again and embedded his fist in my stomach, obviously regaining some of his mobility. The wind was knocked out of me, and I grimaced in pain, but I held my ground. "Please Roxas," I whispered again, the taste of copper starting to grace my lips, "I don't want to lose you to the darkness. You have to fight!" By this time he had regained complete mobility. He shoved me to the ground and drew his sword from Cloud's body. The older blonde cried out in pain. Stradling my body, he positioned the blade at my throat, his eyes held complete and utter malice. I gazed up with pleading eyes and whispered again, "Please Roxas."

I was positive I was going to die by Roxas's hand. Sudenly, a flash of blue overcame the terrifying, blood red orbs, but immediately turned back to red. The blade in his hands began to tremble in response to the rest of his body. The blonde growled in frustration at the uncooperativeness his body was displaying.

I took this chance in his moment of hesitation and leapt to my feet. Once again acting on impulse, I crushed my lips to his. His body froze. I could feel his muscles tense and lock. After a moment I pulled away, revealing a stunned Roxas. His crimson eyes once again flashed from red to azure and back. He clamped his eyes shut and grasped at his hair, almost as if he were in pain. The blonde stumbled backwards, but stayed on his feet, snarling in rage.

Suddenly, his body went limp and he toppled to the ground, unconscious. I managed to catch him before he made contact with the hard earth. His wings hung limply down his back and his expression was very peaceful. As I cradled him in my arms, I watched in awe as his right wing began to shimmer, turning from an inky black to a resplendent snowy white.

As soon as I was positive the small blonde was alright, I gently laid him down and rushed over to my injured comrade, who lay dying in a lake of his own blood.

"Cloud?" I asked quietly, lightly shaking his shoulder for some sort of response. His eyes were closed, and he didn't appear to be breathing.

Life suddenly returned to his body as he let out a hoarse cough, and his eyelids fluttered open. "Axel?" he whispered painfully, blood dripping from his mouth. "Did it work?"

"Yeah, it worked," I replied softly.

His gaze dropped from mine and landed somewhere distant. He chuckled slightly, "That's good. I'm glad my plan worked… Hey, Axel?"

"Yeah buddy?"

"Would you mind telling Zack not to worry, and that I'll be fine? Tell him I love him, and to do everything he can to help kill Vanitas."

I blinked back the tears that began clouding my vision. "Sure thing."

He smiled and whispered, "Thanks." His eyes remained open as his head dropped to the ground. I gently closed his eyelids and patted his shoulder, tears streaming down my face.

Wiping my eyes, I stood and returned to Roxas. Before I could get to him, however, a loud snarl filled the air, causing my body to stiffen in fear. Vanitas appeared in the sky above us, sword drawn and blood lust filling his gaze. I immediately sprinted to Roxas's body and lifted him, shielding the tiny blonde from Vanitas. The older male growled at the sight and thrust his palm forward, creating a huge blast that sent me hurdling backward. I cringed as I sat up, still cradling Roxas's body in my arms.

"How dare you take my pet!" Vanitas snarled and descended to the earth about fifty feet away from where I sat. His yellow eyes flashed with an incredible anger. "You," the older male pointed his finger accusingly at me, "I'm going to tear your head off! No one, especially not some lowly human, is going to take my pet from me." He slowly lowered his arm and glared at us. "I will spare no one. You will all die at my hands!" He turned and flew off, disappearing into the darkness.

I waisted no time. Jumping to my feet, I took Roxas and sprinted back to the cliffs. Hopefully, the others would be waiting there.

* * *

Sorry, another short chapter, and yes I killed Cloud too.

Okay, I admit, I'm kinda rushing a bit through these chapters. I'm no good with fight scenes, they're not really fun to write.

Anyway, review please!

And I'll have chapter 12 out soon...hopefully.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

(Zack POV)

_Damn. I'm not getting anywhere._

Our swords clashed once again, sending a hail of sparks flying into the air. Ever since Cloud left, all we've managed to do is block the other's attacks. Neither of us was making any progress.

"Hey, Terra," I grunted as we rounded back and clashed again.

"What the fuck do you want?" Terra growled in response.

"Let's move this fight somewhere else. We're not getting anywhere fighting like this."

"That's fine by me. Where'd ya have in mind?"

I glanced around looking past the various craters in the landscape that were formed during our battle. The only thing that seemed remotely change of pace where the mountains, but the foothills would work just as well. "How 'bout the hills over there," I gestured to the closest abnormality in the land.

"Sure. Let's go." Our swords vanished in a quick flash of light and we flew into the air, heading straight for the mountains.

The good thing about Terra was that he normally fought fair. He wouldn't attack someone who couldn't defend themselves without first being instructed by Vanitas to do so. There was something about fighting an enemy one on one, each giving it their all that excited him, and at the moment I was thankful for that.

We landed about fifty feet away from one another at the top of the hills.

"You ready?" Terra shouted, drawing his sword.

"More so than you I'm sure!" I called back, copying the large brunette's actions.

He snorted, then drove the blade of the sword into the ground. The land around him began to shake, and large boulders broke away from the ground, levitating slowly into the air. I tensed myself, changing my stance to better prepare for whatever he was planning. The shaking became more violent and large jolts of energy began manifesting around him. I quickly threw up my shield as hundreds of rock spears erupted from the earth.

The force of the blast drove the tips of the spears through my barrier, which was already at its limit. Luckily, none of the rocks made it all the way through, and I was able to safely dispel the barrier. I was immediately assaulted by Terra's blade as the large Tenshi slashed at me. Blocking the attack, I quickly countered by sending a column of rock crashing up from the ground. The attack didn't make contact, but it was enough to break the brunette's concentration. With one fluid motion, I sheathed my buster sword deep in Terra's chest. Blood spilled from his mouth and the wound between the blade. The large brunette collapsed to the ground with a thud, and lay motionless.

_Thank god that's over. _I panted and flopped down on the hard earth in an attempt to catch my breath.

I wasn't able to escape Terra's wrath entirely, though. Various gashes and bruises were indicates that the large Tenshi had managed to best me. However, none of the injuries I received were able to hinder my fighting abilities, so I was okay. Now all I needed to do was find the others and come up with a way to defeat Vanitas.

I sighed and stood, unsheathing my buster sword from Terra's corpse, and flying off toward the cliffs.

(Sora POV)

_Uh oh._

I was precariously perched on the side of the cliffs surrounded by Akukage. I had managed to elude them by climbing part way up the steep slope and planting myself on a small sliver of rock that jutted out of the cliff face, that was only large enough to fit me. At first it looked like they couldn't reach me, and that I was safe. Unfortunately though, they were slowly inching their way up to me, fangs bared.

_Oh, god. I'm gonna die! Riku, I hope you're okay. I love you._

I dropped to my knees and braced myself for death. However, just as the creatures got into striking distance, I suddenly felt myself being scooped up and flying through the air.

"What? Huh? What happened?" I asked, gazing around in a panic.

I looked up and saw Zack smiling down at me, "Hey kiddo, looked like you needed a lift."

"Oh thank you, Zack!" I cried, embracing the raven-haired male.

"No problem buddy."

I smiled up at my savior, then accidentally looked down. We were like a thousand feet high! I quickly shut my eyes and clung to Zack.

"What's wrong?" he asked, trying to recover from my attack.

"D-d-don't l-l-l-like h-heights," I stuttered. The large male laughed at my response and patted my head reassuringly.

(Axel POV)

I hadn't seen any sign of Vanitas since our encounter earlier, which was good because I was nearly home free. The path leading up to the cliffs was longer than I remembered, but eventually I managed to make it back to the spot where we had first arrived in the Dark Realm. No one else had arrived yet. I gently placed Roxas's still unconscious body down on the soft grass, then proceeded to analyze the situation in the canyon. The mass of Akukage from before had been depleted to almost none, and there was still no sign of Vanitas or his two minions.

"Hey Axel, you're alive!" A familiar voice called behind me. I turned to see Zack descending to the ground next to me, a terrified Sora attached to his waist. As soon as the raven haired Tenshi touched the ground, Sora leapt to the ground and scurried to the nearest tree, clinging to it for dear life. "Wow," Zack exclaimed, fascinated at the small brunette's behavior, "That kid REALLY hates flying."

The large male snapped out of his trance, then turned to me and grinned, "Terra is no more! "

"Really?" I asked, surprised, "That's great!"

"Yup," Zack grinned triumphantly, "Ran the bastard through with my buster sword. He is LONG gone."

We all three turned to the sound of flapping wings and found Riku landing close by. The silverette had a large gash in his chest and his shirt was stained with blood, but other than that he appeared to be okay.

"Riku!" Sora called and glomped the silverette, embracing him.

"I went after Ventus, but the coward vanished" the teen said apathetically.

"Well, at least we wont have to worry about him," Zack sighed, relieved. Suddenly, a look of shock overcame his face and he gazed around frantically, "Hey, where's Demyx and Zexion, not to mention, Cloud?"

Both Riku's gaze and mine fell to the ground.

"Cloud was trying to save Roxas, and ended up being killed in the process." I looked to Zack whose expression had turned to one of shock and desolation. "Before he died, he told me to tell you not to worry about him and that he loves you. He also said to do everything you can to help kill Vanitas."

The raven-haired male smiled through the pain and sobbed, "That liar. He told me he wouldn't get killed. I'll have to get him back for that when I see him next."

Seeing the older male like this made it difficult to hold back the pain. I turned my attention toward Riku who looked to be in even more pain than he had before.

"On my way here," the silverette said somberly, "I found Demyx and Zexion's bodies. They were killed while fighting the Akukage. It appeared as though Demyx was cut down first, and Zexion had tried to protect him."

"What?" I gasped, unable to comprehend what I had just heard. "No, that can't be. How many of our friends is that bastard going to take before this is over?" I clenched my fists trying to hold back the rage and sadness that coursed through my body. First Cloud, now Demyx and Zexion. Not to mention the fact that he possessed Roxas and forced him to kill his own brother. "I'm going to kill him!"

A small whimper from behind me snapped me out of my tirade. Roxas had started to wake up, but looked to be in pain. I sprinted to his side and carefully laid his head down on my lap. His eyelids opened listlessly revealing his beautiful crystal cerulean eyes.

He groaned and rubbed his eyes before gazing up at me. "Axel? What happened to you?" The small blonde lifted his hand and tenderly wiped the dried blood from my face. I smiled, then leaned down and kissed his forehead.

He tried to sit up, but was quickly overtaken by pain and fell back on my lap. His new wing draped over his body as he fell, covering part of his torso. "Whoa!" the blonde exclaimed as he beheld his new appendage, taking in the sight of the jet-black wing that spread from his shoulder blade, "When did this happen?" I giggled as I watched him, the sight was just too cute.

Riku and the others joined us, examining Roxas as well. The silverette bent down and stroked the feathers, almost analyzing it as he went along. "I believe that when Vanitas infused you with the darkness, he passed some of his powers along to you. The 'rebirth' of power caused you to grow a new wing in place of your old one."

"Wait," the blonde stated, confused, "If I have new powers then why does it hurt so bad? Shouldn't I feel better than worse?"

"It's probably because your body isn't built to handle the darkness, so it's trying to reject it," Zack jumped in, "That's the pain you feel."

"So, does that mean I have to find some way to remove the darkness from my body?"

"No," the raven-haired male waved his hand dismissively, "the pain should go away as your body becomes accustomed to the dark power. In a while you should feel stronger than ever."

The blonde tried to stand once again, cringing, but managing to get to his feet. "You're right, I do feel stronger." He held out his right hand, summoning his sword in a flash of light. However, along with his original white blade, a new black sword appeared in his left hand. "Whoa, it's just like Vanitas's," Roxas gasped, holding the new blade up to examine it, "Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"

"I guess if you're all still you, then it's okay," Riku assured, "Do you feel anything different, like malicious or dark?"

Roxas closed his eyes for a moment before replying, "No, I just feel like me."

"That's good," the silverette sighed.

"Hey, Roxas?" I placed my hand on the blonde's shoulder.

He turned and looked at me with a questioning gaze, cocking his head to the side, "Yeah Axel?"

I couldn't hold my gaze and looked at the ground. I wanted desperately to tell him about Demyx and Zexion and to ask if he could do something, but I didn't want to say anything that might distract him. The blonde had been possessed the entire time we'd been here, so he didn't know that Demyx and Zexion were here. That's why he hadn't noticed that they were missing. After all, Roxas is the only one who can defeat Vanitas. Without him, none of us will make it out alive. It would be best to tell him after the battle.

"You said earlier that you can bring people back to life, right?"

My question seemed to catch him off guard. He paused for a moment before asking, "Why? What happened? Did someone get hurt?" The blonde began to panic.

I looked to Zack and Riku who shook their heads. "No, it's just… if something happens, I wanted to know that I wouldn't have to worry."

"Oh," he sighed, clearly relieved.

"Axel," Riku called and gestured for me to come over. "Sorry, Rox. We need to borrow him for a minute."

"What?" I jogged over to the two Tenshi. Sora had trotted over to Roxas and was now pestering him with all sorts of questions.

"Roxas will be able to revive the others after the battle," Riku explained in a low voice so the others couldn't hear.

"Why can't he do it now while Vanitas is gone?" I questioned, irritated. "Wouldn't it make more sense to have more allies going into a fight this big?"

Zack stepped in, "Right now, Vanitas is out there gathering his strength for a massive attack. Roxas is our ace in the hole, and we need him to be in top condition for when that attack comes. For now, Demyx, Zexion and Cloud will have to wait."

"I don't get it," I replied stupidly, "How will helping the others affect anything?"

"Because," Riku explained once more, clearly irritated with my stubbornness, "healing someone is one thing. Something that simple doesn't waste that much energy. However, bringing someone back to life is an entirely different matter. It takes massive amounts of energy to call a soul back to its body, not only that, but you also have to make sure that the soul doesn't leave the body once it's returned. Healing a single person could easily wear Roxas down to the point where he'd be slaughtered if he tried to fight Vanitas. It would be best to wait until the battle's over."

"Oh, right," I sighed. "So how much energy would it take to bring someone back? Because, if this gets over and he's completely worn out… would he even be able to?"

"If that's the case," Riku answered, looking deep in thought, "If Roxas tried to revive someone when he's clearly physically incapable, meaning that he too is on the verge of death, or even seriously injured, he could very easily kill himself in the process. We would need to wait until he recovers his strength before we even think about bringing someone back."

I nodded solemnly, then turned my attention back to the little blonde. He was teaching Sora some fighting techniques, while occasionally repositioning the brunette's stance. With Terra and Ventus gone, I truly believed that Roxas could actually defeat Vanitas. However, with all of the horrible things Vanitas had been able to do to him, I couldn't ignore the possibility that he could become injured or even killed during the fight. I don't think that I'd be able to handle losing him again.

"Hey Roxas," I called to the blonde. He looked up from his lesson with Sora, then motioned to the brunette that he'd be right back. It was refreshing to see him be able to do things without constantly having to worry about his injuries all the time.

He trotted over to where I stood and smiled up at me, "Yeah Axel?" The little blonde was surprisingly calm despite the fact that he was about to fight a huge battle at any moment.

I smiled tenderly down at him, then ruffled his golden spikes a bit. His blue eyes fell to the ground, sadness replacing the calm. Then, out of nowhere, he leapt into my arms and embraced me. The action had caught me off guard, but after a moment I returned the gesture, cradling the small Tenshi in my arms.

His warm tears began to stain my shirt, and he whispered softly, "I love you Axel."

Pulling away slightly, I tilted his chin up so his azure eyes met my green. Tears streamed down his face as he gazed at me. "I love you too," I replied. I delicately wiped away the tears then pressed my lips to his. He immediately returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around my neck.

We pulled back after a moment and gazed at each other, before turning to find Sora and Riku comforting one another as well. Zack just stood back and watched, a hint of sadness glinting in the raven-haired male's eyes.

We had all come here knowing that the possibility of losing a loved one was very high, and no matter how much it hurt, we just had to accept it. No matter what, I was not going to lament the loss of someone of whom I knew would be coming back. I had to stay strong.

Suddenly, a huge earthquake shook the land. I desperately clutched onto Roxas in an effort to protect him. As soon as the shaking stopped, we rushed to the edge of the cliff to find the source of the earthquake. Large gauges had formed in the land, and mountains were crumbling in the distance. All of the remaining Akukage had fled and now an eerie silence had fallen over the canyon.

A large black portal began seeping over the ground in the middle of the canyon, and from it emerged Vanitas. Enormous black wings spread intimidatingly from his back. Golden eyes filled with hatred and loathing.

"Coward," Zack growled, "he concealed himself in the shadows while his flunkies did all the fighting."

The portal vanished and Vanitas hovered for a moment before slowly raising his hand into the air. We watched in horror as surges of black lightning fell form the sky, igniting everything they came in contact with in a veil of blue fire. Suddenly, a colossal pillar of darkness descended from the sky, engulfing Vanitas as it gradually extended over the land.

"What the hell is that thing!" Sora exclaimed in terror as an enormous, black creature emerged from the darkness. Massive razor-sharp claws the size of two story houses attached to monstrous paws and muscular limbs appeared first. They were soon followed by an enormous head armed with menacing fangs that oozed some sort of venomous black liquid. Its glowing red eyes contrasted against its huge, jet-black body. The creature's muscular frame and large, wolf-like tail stretched the length of at least three football fields. It was basically a giant Akukage times a hundred!

"That's Vanitas's true form," Riku said solemnly.

"It's huge!" I gasped, taking a step back.

Without warning, Roxas flew into the air and charged the creature, swords poised for battle. The beast snapped at him as he flew overhead. Quickly diving through the air, the small Tenshi just barely managed to dodge the glistening black fangs that threatened to skewer him, embedding one of his swords in the monster's jaw along the way. The creature roared in pain, then swiftly countered, swiping at Roxas with its large tail. The blow made contact and sent the blonde spiraling to the ground.

Rushing to assist their friend, the other two Tenshi took to the air, weapons drawn. The monster positioned itself to slash at the unconscious blonde on the ground with one of its massive claws. Its attack was thwarted, however, as an orb of blue fire collided with the side of its head. The creature reeled back and snarled at its silver haired assailant. Riku charged and slashed open a huge gash in the monster's neck with his sword, causing a thick, black liquid to spill to the ground. It howled in pain and swatted at the silverette with its claws. He managed to dodge the blow, launching another orb of fire at its head.

While Riku distracted the creature, Roxas gradually rose to his feet. In an instant, the small blonde was back on the monster. He drove both of his swords into the creature's side, then with one swift movement, created a huge laceration that ran along the entire length of its body. More of the thick, black substance gushed from the wound.

The creature snarled and lunged at Roxas, fangs bared. Out of nowhere, Zack appeared in front of the smaller Tenshi and erected a barrier around them, which successfully deflected the beast's attack. The larger male then quickly dispelled the shield and thrust his palm forward, creating a huge pillar of rock to erupt from the ground. It struck the monster's chest, sending crashing to the ground.

"Yeah! Get 'em Zack!" Sora cheered next to me, "You guys got him now! Just a little more and this fight's in the bag!"

The creature snarled and leapt to its feet, only to be sent toppling to the ground once again as another orb of fire struck the back of its head. Zack and Roxas joined the silverette as they watched Vanitas stand shakily. A low growl rumbled in the monster's chest and threw its head up in the air, almost as if it were howling. Suddenly, a large ball of dark energy began to take shape in its mouth.

"Shit!" Zack exclaimed, "Everyone get behind me, now!" The raven-haired male erected the shield once again.

However, instead of directing the attack at the three Tenshi, it turned and faced me and Sora, the ball of energy growing larger in its mouth.

"No!" Riku cried and sped toward us, panic and desperation painted across his face.

The creature released the attack, and I quickly took Sora and shielded him with my body, my back facing the blast. I braced myself for impact, but nothing happened. Slowly opening my eyes, I turned to see why Sora and I were still alive. What I beheld sent a torrent of emotions flooding through me, the most prominent among them were sorrow, rage and nausea.

Not five feet away, Riku stood, arms out defensively, between us and Vanitas. He was facing me and Sora, aquamarine eyes wide with pain, blood spilling from his mouth. An enormous lake of blood was forming under the silverette's feet. His tensed body suddenly went limp and his eyes rolled back in his head as he collapsed.

(Sora POV)

His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell forward.

"RIKU!" I cried in despair and rushed to catch him. His body collapsed on top of me, head and arms draped over my shoulders. "Oh, Riku," I sobbed.

I went to rub his back and gasped, horrified, as I discovered a large, gaping hole in the middle of his back. His breathing came out in gurgled heaves as more blood continued to spill from his mouth. In a matter of seconds I was completely drenched in my silverette's blood, and becoming very dizzy. I tried my hardest to stay awake, but the smell of the blood and the sight of the gaping wound in his back hurled me into unconsciousness.

* * *

Hi ya'll!

Yeah, I killed Riku. But Zack, Roxas, Axel and Sora are still alive! ... for now *muahahaha*

just kidding, but still. Yeah, so I would love to see some reviews, and I'm debating on whether or not to write a bonus chapter. If I get enough reviews, I might consider giving you guys a little treat. I've already written the outline and there's some fanservice to make up for the lacking amount in the story, however it also works with the story, so keep reviewing!

I was also planning to write a sequal, which I think you guys would appreciate once I get to the end. Chapter 13 coming soon!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

(Axel POV)

My body was completely frozen. All I could do was listen to the brunette's desperate sobs as his lover died in his arms. The sight was utterly heart wrenching. Eventually, Riku collapsed on top of the brunette in a bloody heap, Sora unconscious due to the overwhelming scent of blood. A few seconds afterward, Riku's breathing stopped completely.

It was hard to believe that I just watched one of my best friends die right before my eyes. The event was so unreal, it was almost like it was a dream, but I knew it wasn't. If anything, this was a nightmare.

Gradually, the feeling returned to my body, and I forced myself to my feet. I lifted the silverette's body off of the small brunette, resisting the incredible urge to vomit at the sight of the gaping hole in his back. Both Riku and Sora were completely drenched in blood. If I hadn't known better, I would've thought that the brunette was dead as well. I gently placed them side by side in the soft grass, out of harm's way, and forced myself to turn my attention back to the fight.

(Roxas POV)

"Riku," I sobbed softly. This had been just like the first time, only instead of me it was Axel and Sora.

Vanitas growled and bared his fangs, almost as if he were laughing. There were no words to describe the disgust I felt to the creature that had once been my brother. Just then, all of the sorrow and pain turned to rage and an uncontrollable urge to destroy the creature that had just brutally murdered my beloved friend.

Not only had he killed one of my best friends, but he had also tried to kill Axel and Sora, and that was something that I could not turn a blind eye to. Vanitas was going to pay dearly.

I rocketed past a still bewildered Zack and charged Vanitas, swords drawn. The creature lunged at me, but I quickly drew back allowing him to pass underneath me as I sheathed my swords deep into his back. Black blood gushed from the two lacerations running parallel down the middle of his back. I didn't allow him a chance to recover. Thrusting my palm forward, I launched a beam of light at the creature. The blast ripped a massive chunk of flesh from his shoulder, and he howled in agony.

Unfortunately, that attack had used up a large portion of my strength, and I was forced to land. Resting my hands on my knees, I panted heavily, desperately trying to catch my breath.

Suddenly, a large shadow blocked what little light was coming from the sun. I glanced up only to be met by one of Vanitas's massive claws descending on top of me, slicing open an enormous gash across my chest. Searing pain washed over me as blood sprayed forth from the wound. Clutching my chest, I collapsed to the ground, completely blinded by pain. I could hear Vanitas lunge at me again and braced myself for another attack. When no pain came, I slowly opened my eyes to find Zack standing defensively in front of me, shield erected. The attack bounced off the barrier and Vanitas roared in frustration.

"You alright little buddy?" the raven-haired male smiled down at me.

I grimaced as another wave of pain racked through my body, but managed to respond, "Yeah, I can still fight." Zack gave me a questioning glance as I staggered to my feet, but then turned back to the creature, hesitantly dispelling his barrier. Vanitas snarled at the raven-haired Tenshi, red eyes glowing brightly. The larger male returned the growl, then took to the sky, charging the creature. I stood there for a moment still trying to recover, then followed after the raven haired male.

(Axel POV)

"Thank God," I sighed to myself after seeing Roxas fly back into the air. The way Vanitas sliced him open like that, I thought I might've just lost Roxas too.

_Dammit, there has to be something I can do! I'm not just going to sit here and watch as my friends get slaughtered!_

I swiftly grabbed my chakrams and began my descent into the canyon, continuing to watch the fight along the way. After that last attack from Roxas, Vanitas seemed to be running only on fumes. All he could manage to do was snarl and growl as his attackers contined to slice him open, his black blood staining the earth beneath him. With one last blast of light, Vanitas's huge body crashed to the ground and began to fade back into the shadows.

(Roxas POV)

That last attack did it. Vanitas snarled and thrashed in protest, but the creature's fate was inevitable. Soon, his enormous body had completely faded away, and he had reverted back to his Tenshi form. Zack and I quickly reunited a ways away from our exhausted assailant, poised defensively for battle. Despite being tired, Vanitas was still very much a threat, and could still kill us at any time.

The golden eyed male staggered to his feet still trying to catch his breath, his black wings hanging limply down his back. "You..pathetic fools," Vanitas growled, "You..think you've...won?I'LL KILL YOU!" His massive wings rose in an intimidating fashion as he unsheathed his black sword from the darkness, then charged us.

Zack flew into the air and I sidestepped the dark haired male as he slashed at me, just barely managing to avoid the blade. Immediately following Zack's lead, I took to the air, only to be persued by my brother. Sparks flew as our swords clashed violently.

I'm sure that to anyone watching, our movements would be a blur. Even with two swords it was still difficult to fend off his relentless attacks.

A sharp jolt of pain coursed through my body as he sliced open my chest, a new wound running perpendicular to the previous one. Seeing his chance, the golden eyed male delivered a powerful kick to my abdomen, sending me plummeting to the earth. Clutching my chest, I slowly sat up, a pool of blood gushing from my mouth. I looked up to see that Zack had taken over my role as Vanitas's combatant. I was surprised at how well the raven-haired male held his own against the faster more skilled Tenshi. He was able to effectively block and dodge all of the attacks. I staggered to my feet and rushed into the air to assist my friend.

"Vanitas!" I shouted.

The sound of my voice momentarily distracted the dark haired male from his fight with Zack, and he turned to face me. Siezing his chance, the raven-haired male made an attempt to run the other through. However, his plan was cut short as Vanitas foresaw the attack and vanished right before the sword hit him. He reappeared behind the bewildered Tenshi and sheathed his sword straight through the larger male's heart.

Blood gushed from his mouth and he hovered in midair for a moment, a pained and shocked expression twisted on his face. His grip on his buster sword loosened as his body went limp, causing it to fall to the ground. The only thing keeping him airborne was the blade embedded in his chest. With one swift movement, Vanitas sliced clean through half of Zack's torso, sending him crashing to the earth with a thud.

I hovered there, speachless, as I watched my friend's corpse fall to the ground. Vanitas, seeing my pained and horrified expression, laughed manaically. "Well brother, it appears you and I are the only ones left!"

I was still paralyzed by shock, unable to do anything as Vanitas vanished once again, immediately reappearing right in front of me. The dark haired male violently grabbed my neck, embedding his nail deep into my flesh. I dropped my swords and grasped at his hand, desperately trying to remove it my my throat, blood spraying from the gashes at the sound of my silent screams of pain. He slowly descended to the ground, still clutching my neck as I thrashed wildly. As soon as his feet touched the ground, I was met with the most beautiful sound in the world.

"Aren't you forgetting someone? I'm still here Vanitas!"

_Axel._

The red head leapt between us, embracing me with one arm while slicing through Vanitas's chest with his chakram with the other. Vanitas released his grip on my throat and cried out in pain as blood sprayed from the laceration. Axel wrapped his body protectively around me as we tumbled to the ground. Coughing and gasping, I desperately tried to catch my breath.

"Are you alright?" Axel asked softly, gently moving a few strands of hair from my face. I nodded and gazed up into Axel's beautiful emerald eyes, but swiftly turned my attention back to the enraged Tenshi.

"You!" Vanitas growled, golden eyes flashing with rage as he glared at the red head sheilding me, "How dare a weak, insignifigant mortal be so brazen as to attack me! You've been a neusance to me ever since I met you. I'm going to get rid of you once and for all! YOU WILL DIE!"

"Please Axel," I exclaimed frantically, grasping his blood stained shirt, "Run! I don't want you getting hurt."

He smiled down at me tenderly. "If I let something happen to you, I wouldn't have a reason to go on. Besides," he stood, leaving me kneeling on the ground, "if I let you die, we all die too." Vanitas continued to glare at us, clutching the gash in his chest. "I'll try and give you some time to recover. Just please stay here." With that, the red head charged at Vanitas. The dark haired male summoned his sword and sidestepped Axel as he slashed at him. Vanitas retaliated, but the red head blocked the blow and countered with his other chakram. The tenshi dodged the attack and with a single movement, sheathed his sword into Axel's shoulder. The red head let out a pained scream and dropped one of his chakrams as his left arm hung limply at his side.

"Axel!" I cried, despirately trying to get to my feet.

Axel growled through clenched teeth and slashed at Vanitas with his remaining weapon. Vanitas grinned, pure malevolence filling his gaze, and grabbed the red head's wrist, stopping him mid swing. He unsheathed his sword from Axel's shoulder and slashed him across his torso, then pulled back and released the red head's wrist. Blood sprayed from the wound and he clutched at the wound. He stumbled backwards, then collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"NO!" I screamed and ran to the red head's side. However, before I could get there Vanitas cut me off and grabbed my arm. He delivered a powerful blow to the stomach and threw me to the ground. Pain shot up my spine and blood filled my mouth as I gasped and coughed, trying desperately to catch my breath.

(Axel POV)

_Dammit...I can't...move_

Through my pain, I was able to turn my head to where Roxas lay coughing on the ground. The older male slowly stalked over to his defenseless little brother and grabbed him by the hair, lifting him so the small blonde met his eye level. Roxas screamed in pain, but Vanitas only smirked in pleasure and turned him so that he was looking at me.

"See little brother," the golden eyed male growled, "this is what happens when you defy my authority. All of your friends, everyone you care about, is dead because of you."

Tears began to stream down the blonde's face as he struggled to release the older male's grip. Vanitas snorted in amusement at his pathetic attempt and threw him to the ground. Roxas slowly opened his eyes and gazed at me, pleading. The only thing I could do was return the stare, and hope that somehow he'd be able to survive this.

(Roxas POV)

Axel's eyelids fluttered as he struggled to keep them open with the increasing loss of blood. I growled as Vanitas knelt down next to me and cupped his hand to my face.

"You know," he whispered lustfully, "I enjoy you more when you scream. It wasn't much fun when you were my puppet." He slowly ran his tongue along my face, then turned to Axel. "Mortal! Observe, for if you continue to peak my intrest I may decide to trade my brother for you. I've been growing rather bored of him lately and I feel a change is in order."

With one swift movement, Vanitas delivered a swift kick to my stomach, rolling me over onto my back, then straddled my body so he supported himself on his hands and knees. Vanitas then proceeded to lick and bite at my neck as he began to remove my pants. Once they were successfully removed, he shoved three of his fingers into my body, his nails ripping open huge gashes as he went. Just beyond my sceams, I could hear Axel's gasps of horror as Vaintas replaced his fingers with his rock hard member, causing the already large lacerations to spread even wider. I shrieked in agony when he suddenly came inside of me, semen entering the cuts and mixing with the blood. The pain was blinding, but nothing hurt worse than knowing that Axel was being forced to watch. I knew how much it hurt the red head to watch me suffer, and now he was witnessing the full brunt of Vanitas's torture, and I was completely powerless to stop him.

(Axel POV)

The sight of the blonde being raped right before my eyes was utterly horrifying. It took all I had not to vomit at the sounds of his blood curdling screams as Vanitas thrust himself deeper into Roxas's body. With each movement the screaming increased and blood began to pool underneath the small blonde's body. Vanitas was literally ripping him apart from the inside. He bit and clawed at Roxas's chest and neck, creating all new gashes. At this rate, Roxas was going to bleed to death faster than I was.

I couldn't hold it back anymore, when Vanitas shoved his tongue down the blonde's throat, I hurled. There wasn't a single thing I wanted to do more at that moment, then to go over there and kill the fucking bastard. Unfortunately, I had lost way too much blood and my body wouldn't listen to me worth crap. All I could do was continue to watch in horror and disgust as the spectacle continued.

(Roxas POV)

I couldn't breathe. His tongue was blocking my airway and I couldn't get anything in or out of my lungs. My vision started to become blurry, and the only thing I could concentrate on was how he tasted like sweat, dirt and blood. When he finally pulled away, I gasped for oxygen. The sight of my struggle must've angered him, because he responded to my gasps with a blow to the face.

"Now little brother," he whispered in my ear as he removed himself from my body, "it's your turn to watch as I do the same to your little red head over there." He laughed manaically as my face reflected the horror I'd recieved from his words. _No. He's not doing that to Axel. There's no way in HELL I'm letting him defile my red head!_

I snarled and grasped his throat as my horror turned to rage, a new surge of strength coursing through my body. It felt as though my blood were on fire. "Over my dead body, 'brother'!" The lust and amusement in his eyes had been replaced with pure terror, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of pure delight as I dug my nails into his throat and threw him off of me.

Using my wings, (seeing as my legs wouldn't work) I pushed myself onto my hands and knees. Vanitas had recovered from the retaliation and was desperately trying to escape. I quickly flew into the air, cutting my brother off. He slunk back in suprise as I loomed over him, but then hurriedly replaced his shock with a nervous, deviant smile. "I can see the mortal is very important to you," he whispered, turning back toward Axel, the grin on his face spreading with newly found confidence, "So much so it's causing you to gradually return your heart to what little darkness still lurks inside you. Perhaps if I use twice as much force to break him, I'll have a brand new pet as well as my puppet after the darkness fully takes over."

None of his words about the darkness phased me. The one thing I did care about, however, was his mention of Axel. Before he could blink, I landed a powerful blow to his face and abdomen, causing him to spiral to the ground below. With my new power also came a massive increase in speed, and I rocketed past the older male, cutting him off before he hit the ground. I landed another blow to the side of his face, sending him flying into the wall of the canyon. Not allowing him the chance to recover, I delivered another punch to his chest, forcing him deeper into the crater he was lying in.

Blood dripped from Vanitas's mouth, and his face and chest swelled and darkened with the various bruises that were beginning to form. I couldn't help but laugh at his pathetic state. The man that had once caused me so much pain was now lying defenseless, bloodied and bruised in a crater.

He groaned and slowly opened his golden eyes, "Wha-what's so funny? As far as I can tell... I'm the one who's winning."

His statement completly caught me off guard. "What do you mean?" I asked suspiciously.

Vanitas smirked and chuckled, "As I said before, your heart is slowly being taken over by the darkness. At this rate it doesn't matter if you kill me, you'll just become a slave to the dark power once again, and take over where I left off!"

It was my turn to laugh at his stupidity. "Fool. I'd never loose to the darkness. I'm simply using its power to slaughter you. I guess I should thank you for giving it to me in the first place. Thanks 'brother', and goodbye." The look of pure terror overcame his golden eyes once again as I thrust my palm forward. A blast of dark light burst forward, blasting a hole straight through the older Tenshi's chest. He gasped and sputtered, blood gushing from his mouth, then went completely limp, soulless golden eyes still remaining open. At last, Vanitas was dead.

Almost as quickly as it came, my strength vanished, and with it, the darkness that had threatened to devour my heart. I quickly flew to the top of the cliff and collapsed on the ground. _Perhaps...if I rest for just a moment... _I allowed myself to relax, knowing that if I didn't regain some of my strength I'd be unable to revive my friends. Axel was probably dead by now. I needed to make sure to revive Riku, just in case I died before I could make it back to revive Axel. The red head's body was the furthest away, so it was possible that I wouldn't make it back to him. If that happened, Riku could use my powers to revive him.

Unfortunately for me, he could only use someone's powers once, and seeing as he wasn't skilled in using my abilities, it wasn't certain that he would succeed in reviving the person, whomever it was. It was a well known fact that it was easier to call a human's soul back its body than it was a Tenshi's. I didn't want him chancing reviving me, only to have it fail, when he has a greater chance of successfully bringing back Axel.

Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of shuffling, followed by a soft snore. I gradually pushed myself to my hands and knees and looked over in the direction I heard the sound. "S-sora? Riku?" I gasped as I saw the two laying side by side in the grass nearest the trees. The small brunette fidgeted, then snored softly once again. _He's alive? I thought Vanitas said that everyone had been killed._ Tears fell down my face as I was overcome with happiness and excitement.

I gradually made my way over to the pair, crawling as fast as I could on my hands and knees, only to be met with the gut wrenching sight of Riku's dead body. Working swiftly, I rolled the silverette onto his stomach and held my hand slightly above the gaping wound in his back. My hand slowly began to glow as I concentrated all of my efforts on first healing his body. Flesh began to fill in the hole, stretching and weaving to form a brand new layer of skin. By the time I was through, you couldn't even tell he'd been injured in the first place. The only thing to do now was call back the soul. I carefully flipped him back onto his back and rested my hand in the middle of his chest. It began to glow once again, but this time, it came with an intense strain on my body. The longer I spent calling back the soul, the more energy was sucked from my body and the harder it became to continue the revival process.

When I was certain it had worked, I quickly withdrew my hand and began having a violent coughing fit. A small pool of blood gushed from my mouth and pain racked my body. I collapsed back on my knees and took quick, shallow breaaths in an effort to stop the coughing before the action forced my wounds back open.

* * *

Hi! Sorry I ended on such a weird note. I kinda felt that if I didn't stop now the chapter was just going to go on and on, so...yeah.

Up next is probably going to be the last chapter, unless you guys review, then I'll add that bonus chapter I told you about earlier. It's basically going back in time to when Roxas, Vanitas and others were human. So if you want me to write it you need to review!

Chapter 14 coming soon! What fate will befall Roxas and the others? Find out in the next exciting enstallment of Blood of a Fallen Angel!


	14. Chapter 14

_Even if I say_

_it'll be alright_

_Still I hear you say_

_you want to end your life_

_Now and again we try_

_to just stay alive_

_Baby we'll turn it around_

_cause it' not too late_

_it's never too late_

* * *

Chapter 14

(Sora POV)

I groaned and slowly lifted my eyelids. Something had woken me up, I just didn't know what.

_Wait a second, this isn't my room. This isn't even my house for that matter!_

"Ah! What happened? Where am I?" I screamed, jumping into a sitting position.

"Sora, Sora, it's okay. Calm down," a familiar voice soothed and placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, snapping me out of my frenzy. I turned to see a pair of big blue eyes gazing tenderly at me.

"Oh, Roxas. It's just you." I sighed. However my relief was short lived. I suddenly remembered what had happened before I fainted. "Wait! Where's Riku?" He had defended us from the blast and ended up with a giant hole in his back. Evidence from the event was still made itself known on my shirt and pants. Both were still drenched in Riku's blood.

"He'll be fine," the blonde smiled and gestured to the silverette lying close by,"He should wake up in a while." His chest slowly rose and fell with each breath, a sight I thought I was never going to see again.

"RIKU! He's alive!" Roxas chuckled as I sprinted over to him, kissing every inch of the silverette's face. My precious Riku was alive, and that was all that mattered. I turned and faced the blonde sitting behind me, tears streaming down my face, then leapt into his arms and buried my face in his shoulder. "Y-you s-s-saved him," I sobbed, "Oh Roxas, thank you so much. Thank you."

"Actually, I'm just glad you were alive when I got here," he sighed and patted my back.

I pulled away and gazed up at him, confused by his statement, "What do you mean?"

"I need you to help me. Vanitas gave me a pretty good thrashing, so I can't walk. Could you help me get to the others?"

"Sure thing buddy!" I grinned and wrapped his arm around my shoulder while grabbing his waist, pulling the blonde to his feet. He cringed and whimpered a little, but appeared to be okay.

"Get on," he instructed, motioning for me to climb on his back. I did as I was told, and with a single jerky movement we flew into the air.

"Where are we going?" I called over the wind as we soared throud the sky, trying my best not to look down.

"We're going to find whoever's closest," he called back, "Do you know who that might be?"

"Uh...umm...Oh! Riku said he saw Demyx and Zexion somewhere over there!" I pointed over into an area of the canyon that was strewn with the bodies of several hundred Akukage. _Wow, Demyx and Zexion had managed to take a lot with them before they died._

"Demyx and Zexion are here?" Roxas sighed softly to himself. I could tell he was trying to cover up the pain and sadness in his voice. I'd forgotten he hadn't been with us when we entered the Dark Realm.

After a while, we finially spotted the two and landed. Roxas collapsed as soon as we touched the ground, panting heavily. "What's wrong?" I cried worriedly. The last thing I wanted was to watch another one of my friends die.

"Nothing," he cringed as he sat up, "I'm fine." I lifted him back onto my shoulder and helped walk him over to Demyx and Zexion.

The sight was almost as horrible as it had been with Riku. Zexion was lying in a bloody heap on top of Demyx, his back completely ripped apart, most likely from the Akukage's claws. As Riku had said, it looked as though the lilac haired male was trying to protect the older blonde, the way he was positioned on top of him. Poor Demyx wasn't in much better shape. A huge gash ran from the top of his chest to the base of his abdomen. That was undoubtedly the wound that killed him.

Roxas gently moved Zexion off of Demyx and placed his hand on the lilac haired male's chest. Suddenly, something amazing happened. Roxas's hand began glowing, and soon, Zexon's entire body glowed. Then, flesh and skin started to fill in and stretch over each of the gashes, not even leaving a scar when he was done. "Alright," the blonde sighed and took a deep breath. His hand and Zexon's body began to glow once more; Roxas concentrating very hard on what he was doing. After a moment, his hand began to tremble and he grimaced like he was in pain, but continued with the ritual, still looking very focused. Another minute passed before the light vanished and the blonde quickly pulled away.

"Are you alright?" I gasped as he dropped the the ground, clutching his chest and coughing violently. _Oh god, oh god! What do I do? What do I do? _He looked like he was convulsing, the way his body shook. Blood dripped from his mouth and several places on his chest. All I coud do was try to comfort him, rubbing my hand on his back in an attempt to stop the coughing.

Eventually he stopped, but he still trembled and his face had become very pale.

(Roxas POV)

"I'll be fine," I tried my best to put on my most convincing smile for the worried blonde.

I repeated the proccess with Demyx, getting similar results as before. The whole event had left me considerably weaker and in extreme agony. All of my wounds had reopened and I was loosing blood at an alarming rate.

"Come on," I panted, motioning for Sora to lift me back onto my feet, "We have to find Zack and Cloud."

"Are you sure you shouldn't rest a bit?" Sora asked, almost pleading.

"Yeah, I'm sure," I grinned. Sora really was a nice kid, it's no wonder Riku loves him. "Riku really is a lucky guy to have you," I sighed, limping as the brunette walked me through the canyon.

My statement only rewarded me with a confused look from the brunette.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter."

We continued our journey until we came upon Zack's body. Just as before, he was covered in cuts, the most prominent being the fatal wound in his chest. I made quick work of Zack, erupting in a fit of coughing once again as soon as it was over. Blood gushed from my mouth in a much larger quantity than before, and I could feel it beginning to fill my lungs. My body was nearly completely sapped of energy, and it was difficult to move.

"Roxas, you need to rest for a while," Sora pleaded, "If you keep going, you wont make it. I don't want to see another friend die." His face started to become pale, and I could tell the smell of blood was getting to him.

"Here," I sighed and tore off a clean section of my shirt, one that wasn't covered in blood, "use this to cover your nose and mouth. It should make the smell more bearable."

"Thanks," the brunette hesitantly took the cloth from my hand and placed it over his mouth. He knew what I was intending to do, and despite his despirate attempts to get me to stop, he continued to help me anyway. I was forever grateful to the little brunette.

(Sora POV)

I wasn't just going to stand back and watch him sacrifice himself, but I knew that he wasn't going to quit until his body quit for him. Hopefully, his body would be smart and stop him before he gets himself killed.

Fortunatly, Cloud wasn't too far away from Zack. I sat Roxas down next to the older blonde, and he began his work on reviving him. Halfway through the second part, Roxas collapsed.

"Roxas? Roxas!" I cried, frantically shaking his shoulder. He looked like he was unconcious, and he was taking quick shallow breaths. _Can he not breathe? Oh no! What do I do? What do I do? Am I supposed to give him CPR, or...? _Suddenly, his breathing stopped completely, and blood dripped from the side of his mouth. Doing the only thing I could think of, I placed my hands on his chest and began pressing down in a steady rhythm. "One, two, three. One, two, three," I whispered quietly to myself, then knelt down and put my ear to his chest. There still wasn't a pulse, so I continued the pattern. Thankfully, he started coughing, blood draining from his lungs. "Are you okay?" I asked, nearly on the verge of tears.

"Yeah... I think so," he gasped.

"Don't scare me like that! You need to rest before I take you any further, and that's an order!" I commanded, the tears beginning to fall from my face.

He paused for a moment, then looked at the ground. If he protested again, I swear I was going to knock him out myself! "Agreed," the blonde finally whipered. I guess it must be hard for him to admit that he's too injured to do something. That must be why he always tries so hard to hide his pain from everyone.

We sat for a while, Roxas lying on my lap in a feutal attempt to make him somewhat comforatable. Fortunately, he had managed to revive Cloud before collapsing, so he didn't have to waist any more of his strength.

"Alright," Roxas grunted, sitting back up, "let's go. Axel's the only one left."

"You're sure?" I asked, placing my hand on his back for support.

"Definately."

(Roxas POV)

I was positive I had just enough strength to bring Axel back. At the moment, I was using energy I didn't have, and that was taking a major toll on my body. However, if I could just revive Axel, everything would be alright, and I could die happily.

Finally, we came to the fateful place where Axel had saved me, then was forced to watch as I was mercillessly raped right in front of him. As I had thought, the red head had died from his injuries. The sight of his lifeless corpse nearly causing me to break down into tears. Sora gently set me beside the red head, then quickly retreated a few feet back. The smell of the fresh blood a little too much for the brunette.

Just as before, I laid my hand on his wound and his body began to glow. The wound healed easily, and now all I had to do was call back the soul. Not even halfway through, my hand started shaking violently, soon followed by my entire body. Blood gushed from my mouth and the gashes in my chest, but I held my ground. I used everything I had to call back the soul, unfortunatly, I wouldn't be sure if it worked or not. Everything began spinning and the world grew black as my body suddenly gave out on me. The last thing I remembered seeing was Axel's face and hearing Sora calling my name, before the darkness overtook me.

(Zexion POV)

My head was spinning and it felt as though I'd been hit by a truck. I slowly opened my eyes and forced myself into a sitting position, then the relization hit me.

_Wait a minute! I'm alive?_

I quickly scanned my surroundings until my gaze landed on an all too familiar mullhawked blonde lying beside me. He was curled up in a ball snoring softly. The sight filled me with so much happiness all I wanted to do was jump on the blonde and kiss him until I was satisfied that this was real and not a dream. However, I found the means to restrain myself and simply crawled over to him.

Gently shaking his shoulder, I whispered, "Demyx...Demyx wake up."

He responded with a loud snore, then rolled over and whined. The sight was to much. Tears began rolling down my face and all I could do was laugh at his usual child-like behavior. I had been positive that I was never going to see him again, and here he was, sleeping away as if nothing happened.

I shook Demyx harder and he swatted my hand away. "No Zexion! Five more minutes," he whined then grogily lifted his head and pushed himself up. The blonde yawned and gazed around in a daze. He pouted and his expression became a mixture of concern and confusion, beautiful sea green eyes gazing at me with puppy-like curiosity. "Zexy?"

I laughed and embraced the blonde, resting my forehead against his. He giggled and placed his hand on the back of my head pulling my lips into his.

_I'll have to be sure and find some way to thank Roxas. I owe him both mine and Demyx's life. I'm forever indebted to him._

(Demyx POV)

I had no idea where I was or why Zexy was acting so wierd, but I went along with it, just happy to be holding him in my arms.

(Zack POV)

"Ugh, dammit. I feel like crap," I groaned as I stood, stretching out my stiff muscles.

I examined my chest where I'd been stabbed and laughed when I found there was no wound.

_I knew the little guy could do it._

"Zack?" I turned to see Cloud jogging toward me. I smiled and sprinted to meet my husband, wrapping my arms around him and lifting him into the air. He obviously wasn't expecting it as he immediatly protested against my affection, squirming and trying to wriggle free from my grasp. "Zack, come on," he whined, and I could tell he was blushing.

"Cloud, we're alive!" I exclaimed, pulling him down so he met my eye level and crushing my lips to his, "Roxas did it!"

"I know, amazing isn't it," the blonde chuckled as I set him down.

I gazed into his beautiful blue eyes and whispered, "Let's go find everyone."

He nodded in agreement. We took eachother's hand, intertwining our fingers and flew into the air, toward the direction we felt the strongest energy level. That had to be where everyone was meeting up, so that was where we were going.

(Axel POV)

The very first thing I noticed when I regained conciousness was a complete lack of pain. The second was the sound of quiet sobbing coming from nearby. I grogily opened my eyes and pushed myself up, gazing around to find the source of the crying. My green eyes widened as I beheld Sora huddled and sobbing over Roxas' limp and bleeding body.

The small brunette must've heard me get up, because he turned to face me, tears streaming from his big blue eyes. "Axel," he sniffled, "he's not breathing."

I quickly crawled over to them as fast as I could and lifted the blonde's body so he was cradled in my arms. Without a moments hesitation, I pressed my mouth to his and began filling his lungs with air.

"I told him to wait...that he wasn't strong enough, but he wouldn't listen to me, Axel!" Sora sobbed hysterically, "He kept insisting that he couldn't wait, and that he had to do it now, and then he began shaking and coughing up blood, and...Oh, Axel, please tell me he's going to be okay!"

"It's alright," I soothed in between breaths, "I won't let him die." Unfortunatly, I couldn't be so sure about that. My attempts seemed pretty fruitless, and it appeared as though all I was managing to do is breathe air into a lifeless corpse.

After a few minutes, I was about to give up, when suddenly the most incredible thing happened. The lifeless blonde in my arms began coughing and sputtering and gasping for breath, blood spurting from his mouth. His azure eyes gazed up at me and an exhausted smile spread across his face. However, the normal life in his eyes had grown dim, and it looked as though he was just barely hanging on.

"Axel, you're okay," he whispered. His voice was nearly inaudible. The blonde turned his head a little and sighed to himself, "So it did work after all."

"Roxas," Sora's voice cracked, "you're gonna be alright, aren't you? You're gonna make it?"

The blonde laughed weakly and managed to ruffle the brunette's spikes. "Sorry, Sora. I don't think that's going to happen. I used too much energy and my bleeding hasn't stopped yet. You'll just have to go home without me." His answer went right through me, like a stab in the chest.

_What? How can he say something like that? How can he be so positive he's not going to make it back? Roxas, you can't leave me. I just got you back._

Tears began falling down my face and the blonde looked up at me, suprised. "It's alright, Axel," Roxas smiled tenderly and gently cupped his hand to the side of my face, wiping the tears away as he went.

"How can it be alright?" I sobbed shakily, "How can you leaving me be considered 'alright'. Roxas...I don't want you to go." I didn't care if I sounded like the most selfish person in the world right now. I had already said before that I was not going to lament the loss of someone whom I knew would be coming back, but now...I wasn't so sure if Roxas would ever come back. There was absolutely no way I could handle losing him again.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, gently carressing my cheek with his thumb, "there's nothing I can do."

His breathing began to slow and his hand started to shake. I placed my hand over his in an effort to keep it from falling, then bent down and gently pressed my lips to his.

"I love you, Roxas," I sobbed softly, "I love you so much."

The little blonde looked as though he was about to respond, but before he could manage to say anything, his breathing stopped and his arm fell limply to the ground.

"Roxas? Roxas!" I cried frantically, but my desperation warrented no response from Roxas. I pulled his body close to my chest and buried my face in his hair. "No, please. Roxas you can't leave me. You can't die!" I sobbed into his golden spikes and kissed his forehead. Tears dripped onto the blonde's face as I continued to cry.

Sora buried his head in his hands and cried hysterically. I felt so sorry for him. He was far to sweet and innocent to have to be forced to watch not one, but two of his friends die right before his eyes. Unfortunatly, the only thing I could concentrate on at the moment was the lifeless body in my arms.

Suddenly, my grieving was halted by the sound of hurried footsteps running up behind me. I turned my head to see Demyx and Zexion standing a few feet away, both with very worried expressions on their faces. Demyx took a tentative step forward and asked, "Axel...Sora...What's wrong?" My back was to them and my body was positioned over Roxas so they couldn't really see the blonde. My gaze fell to the ground and I began sobbing once again.

They quickly rushed around to where I sat, getting a clear view of what I was holding in my arms. Their faces twisted into a mixture of agony, shock and horror.

Tears began to stream down Demyx's face and I watched as the blonde dropped to his knees, hesitantly pushing Roxas' bangs from his face. "I-Is h-h-he gonna b-be okay?" he asked shakily, his sea green eyes filled with pain and sorrow.

I returned his gaze and simply shook my head in response. The older blonde threw himself into Zexion's arms and began sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder. It appeared as though the lilac haired male had completely lost the ability to process new thoughts and emotions as he still stood, frozen in a state of shock.

The sound of beating wings filled the air as the other three Tenshi arrived.

"What happened?" the silverette demanded once he saw our faces, and quickly ran over to where we were all huddled around Roxas. At first, he reacted the same way as Zexion, frozen in shock. But after a moment he dropped to his knees and placed his hand on the blonde's face. "No," he gasped silently, then pulled his hand away and looked at the ground. We all sat in silence for a moment, the only sounds coming from Sora's and Demyx's muffled sobs.

After a while, Riku finally spoke up. "I just thought of something, but I'm not sure if it would work." Everyone glanced up, suprised at the silverette's statement. I watched him quizically as he placed his hand on the blonde's chest, "I could use my powers to borrow Roxas' abilities and revive him."

"Are you serious?" I asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah," the silverette answered, still looking concerned, "but this is Roxas' power, not mine. I've never mastered it, let alone use it before. There's no garuntee he'll survive."

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked, walking over to where we sat.

"I can only use someone's powers once and there are two parts to Roxas' ability. If by some miracle I do manage to revive him, he could still very easily just die again from his injuries," he replied somberly.

"Should we try it?" I asked, a small hint of hope tinging my voice.

"But what if it doesn't work?" Demyx contradicted, contrary to his normal optimistic demeanor, "I don't want to watch him suffer."

Suddenly, Zexion spoke up, silencing everyone, "We can't just sit around thinking about it! Roxas saved all of our lives without a second thought, knowing full well he was sacrificing his own. We owe it to him to at least try." Everyone nodded in agreement with Zexion's statement.

"Axel," Riku said softly, "I have to talk to you about a few things first. Everyone, I'll need you to give us some space." The others did as they were told and backed away out of earshot.

"What is it Riku?" I had absolutely no idea why he had to talk to me first. Why couldn't he just bring him back already?

The silverette sighed, then looked me straight in the eye and said very seriously, "I need to know if you really want him back or not."

All I could do was sit there, speachless.

* * *

Dun Dun Duuunnnn! What the HELL is goin' through that boy's mind?

Anyway, sorry I kinda lied. There's gonna be one more chapter, THEN the bonus chapter. I would really love to hear your reactions to this chapter so please review and I promise I'll have 15 out soon.

Love you all XD


	15. Chapter 15

Heaven's gates won't open up for me

with these broken wings I fall

and all I scream for you

These city walls ain't got no love for me

I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story

and all I need is you

_come please I'm callin'_

and all I need from you

_hurry I'm fallin'_

_I'm fallin'_

Show me what it's like

_to be the last one standin'_

and teach me wrong from right

_and I'll show you what I can be_

and say it for me, say it to me

and I'll leave this life behind me

say it if it's worth savin' me

_hurry I'm fallin'_

* * *

Chapter 15

_What? How the HELL can he ask something like that? Does that kid have brain damage or something?_

Trying my best to contain my anger, I asked in response, "Why would I want him to stay dead? Roxas is my life. I love him."

The silverette sighed, "I'm asking you because I know you love him."

His statement completely threw me off guard. "W-what?"

"If I revive him, he'll still have his wounds from his fight with Vanitas. That alone would be enough to kill him again. There's also the possibility that something could go wrong. I've heard him say that sometimes when he revives someone, their spirits are too weak to reattach back to their body, and they always end up dying as soon as he brings them back. It is a possibility that either during the fight or when he was reviving us that his soul became weaker. Even if he does survive, that could lead to later complications. In either case, Roxas suffers. So, I have to ask you, do you really want me reviving him, knowing full well that he'd be hurting?"

_Oh, now I see. He just doesn't want Roxas to suffer anymore than he already has._

This was a really tough decision. The last thing I wanted was for Roxas to be in anymore pain. However, if he was brought back and he did survive, he would have a chance to live a normal life with the people he loves. Roxas's happiness was reason enough to give it a try.

"Yes," I finally nodded, "I want you to bring him back."

"You're sure?" Riku asked one more time.

I thought about it for another moment before nodding.

"Alright."

The silverette placed his hand on the blonde's chest and closed his eyes. Suddenly, his arm started shimmering. The glow spread up his arm until his whole body shone brilliantly, wings changing from dark indigo into a resplendent snowy white. He slowly opened his glimmering aquamarine eyes and composed himself before closing them once again as he concentrated on calling back Roxas' soul. The others had returned and were now watching the the silverette with hopeful eyes. About halfway through, his hand began to shake in response to the rest of his body and he grimaced, almost as if he were in pain. The little blonde's body glowed with a heavenly light, then suddenly ceased as Riku collapsed to his hands and knees, gasping exhaustedly.

"Riku!" Sora called, running to his boyfriend's side.

"I'm alright," Riku assured, sitting back up. We all gazed at Roxas; nothing had changed.

"Did it work?" I asked in a low voice.

"I don't know," the silverette replied, "If it did, it'll be a while before we see any changes."

"Like how long?" Demyx questioned, green eyes still full of worry.

"A few hours?" he didn't exactly look too sure of himself.

"Let's not discuss this here," Zexion said, motioning to Riku.

"Right." The silverette opened a passageway. Gently lifting the small blonde, we all went inside.

The portal led back to my apartment, which was good because everyone pretty much collapsed right when we got there, all except for Riku and I who took Roxas upstairs. Sora was going to come, but he was still nauseous from Roxas' blood, so he stayed downstairs. We laid him down in the bad and the silverette gave us a moment of privacy, allowing me to discard all of Roxas' blood soaked clothes and clean him up. We thought it best to patch up all of his wounds, just in case he woke up. That way he would have a much better chance of survival.

By the time we finished, his body had begun to grow cold. His lips were an icy blue, his porcelain skin was now a sickly pale and his wings were completely stiff. I knelt down beside him and began massaging his hand in a feudal attempt to provide some heat to his body.

"Axel," Riku whispered. I turned to look at him, a pained expression still on his face. "I wouldn't give it any more than twelve hours. If it doesn't work then..." he turned his head so his silver hair hid his face, "I'm sorry."

I didn't respond to his comment. I simply turned back to the blonde and continued massaging his hand. After a few minutes, the silverette left. I couldn't help but think that there was more to his and Roxas' relationship that either one was letting on. The way Riku looked at him, the sparkle in his eyes and the tenderness of his expression just hinted at something more. However, this was just a passing thought.

For what seemed like hours, I sat there, holding Roxas' hand and occasionally checking for any signs of life, but finding none. Every once in a while I would talk to him. It was just random things that popped into my head, but it helped me to cope with the situation so that's all that mattered. I don't know when I fell asleep, but I was awoken by the sound of people chattering and the smell of pancakes. Everyone must've spent the night. Roxas was still lying motionless in the bed. I sighed and continued massaging the blonde's hand.

_He said no more than twelve hours. How long's it been? Oh well. I don't care._

All hope of Roxas recovering was starting to fade, and with it, my will to live. I was suddenly startled out of my trance like state by a knock at the door.

"Axel?" Demyx's voice sounded from the opposite side of the door, "You awake?"

"Yeah," I answered apathetically, just loud enough for him to hear.

"Do you want to come down and eat some breakfast?"

"No."

There was a pause. "Then can I come in?"

I thought about it for a moment before giving him the okay. The door opened and the blonde hesitantly stepped into the room. "Anything?" he asked, kneeling down next to the bed beside me. I shook my head in response. "Oh." We sat in silence for a moment before Demyx spoke up, tenderly moving Roxas' bangs from his face, "You know, when I fist saw him I thought he was the cutest thing in the whole world, and that opinion hasn't changed." I actually managed a small smile and ran my fingers through the blonde's hair. "I'm just so happy we got him away from those evil brothers of his."

"Yeah, but at what cost?" I sighed.

Demyx didn't have an immediate response to that. "Well, if we do get him back," the mullhawked blonde smiled, "I mean **when** we get him back, we're going to make sure he's the happiest, most loved little muffin in the WHOLE world! We'll take him to movies and amusement parks and teach him how to play video games, and we'll spend every second of every day with him. He'll be so grateful for this second chance, and it'll be you he's going to thank Axel."

"No it's not," I chuckled, "it'll be Riku."

The older blonde placed his finger on his chin quizzically, then snapped his fingers in one of those 'ah ha' moments. "Sure Riku's the one that brought him back," Demyx grinned and placed his arm over my shoulders, "but if it had been up to him, he would have been to scared to even try. You're his real savior, Axel."

"Thanks Dem," I smiled. He always knew exactly what to say to cheer me up, and I was grateful for that.

"No problem," he giggled.

We sat for another couple of minutes before I remembered something. "Hey Dem."

"Yeah?"

"How long's it been since we got back?"

He looked back at the clock sitting on my nightstand then replied, "About nine hours."

I sighed and dropped my head down on the covers. It was a good thing we had so much time left, but that also meant more waiting, and I was already stressed enough as it was.

Demyx stood and headed for the door. "Do you want me to bring something up for you?"

"Pancakes please," my voice was muffled by the sheets.

"Okay."

A few moments later he returned with a plate full of pancakes. I hadn't realized I was so hungry until I scarfed them down, not leaving a single crumb left.

I had dozed off again, but when I woke up I found it had only been about an hour. Lifting my head, I gazed groggily at the little blonde. Noticing no changes I yawned and laid my head back down, however it looked like something had moved out of my peripheral vision. I did a quick double take, but after a minute or so, nothing happened_. Damn, I could've sworn I saw something. It was probably just my mind playing tricks on me. Forget what Demyx said, I shouldn't get my hopes up_. Suddenly, there was slight movement underneath the blankets. My green eyes went wide as the little blonde's chest rose and fell, then repeated the action a few minutes later. I frantically pulled myself up and placed my ear against the blonde's chest. I was met by the sweet sound of a soft, steady heart beat_._

_He's alive! I can't believe it! He's actually alive!_

Tears of joy streamed down my face as I continued to watch his chest rise and fall, each breath taking a shorter amount of time to follow through with the last one. The heat slowly began to return to his body and his skin and lips returned to their normal color. Waisting no time I sprinted down stairs and found everyone sitting at the table. They all looked up at me, confused, but after reading the expression on my face, hurriedly dashed up the stairs into my room.

"No way!" Demyx exclaimed, a huge grin on his face.

"It really worked," Zexion sighed, mirroring his partner's shock.

"How long's he been like this?" Riku asked in a very serious tone.

"About forty five minutes," I smiled.

"Good," the silverette sighed in relief. Zack and Cloud simply stood there, grinning, as they wathed the small blonde.

"Yay! Roxy's gonna be okay!" Sora bounced up and hugged Riku, "You're amazing Riku." The older male smiled and ruffled the brunette's spikes.

Unfortunately, the joy was shattered as Roxas suddenly began having a coughing fit out of nowhere. I rushed to the blonde's side, quickly followed by everyone else.

"Riku, what's happening?" Zack asked, panicked.

"I told you I wasn't able to heal his injuries. He must've suffered some internal damage," Riku sighed, completely devastated. Blood began to drip from the side of Roxas' mouth and I placed my hand on the side of his face in an effort to comfort him.

"Isn't there something we can do?" I whimpered pathetically.

"He's lived through a lot worse than this," Cloud assured, kneeling down on the other side of the bed, "I'm positive he'll survive."

A moment later, his coughing fit subsided, but blood continued to drip from his mouth and he looked like he was having difficulty breathing. I propped him up into a sitting position and wiped the blood from his mouth. That seemed to help his breathing a great deal and his eyelids fluttered open. Cerulean eyes gazed exhaustively around the room, stopping for a moment at each of our faces. He looked completely confused and disoriented.

"W-what happened?" the little blonde asked, rubbing his eyes. His voice was very quiet and very rhaspy. "I thought I died."

"You did die," Cloud said softly.

"But Riku saved you!" Sora interjected, jumping onto the silver haired male's back.

The little blonde smiled tenderly at the older teen, "Thank you, Riku."

"No problem," Riku replied, returning the smile.

There it was again! I swear there had to have been something more to those two than they let on.

Roxas cringed and clutched his stomach as a wave of pain crashed over him. The blood began dripping from his mouth once again.

"Riku," Sora whispered, clutching his boyfriend's sleeve. The silverette smiled sympathetically.

"Sora and I are going to go downstairs," Riku sighed and led the little brunette out the door. Once Sora and Riku left, everyone turned their attention back to Roxas.

"It's okay...I'll be fine," the little blonde managed to choke out between jolts of pain.

"Don't worry," I sighed, cleaning the blood from his face, "I'll take care of him."

After a moment, the others hesitantly left the room, leaving Roxas and I by ourselves. While I was cleaning him up, the blonde smiled at me.

"What?" I chuckled.

His gaze softened and he whispered in response, "I'm just so happy you're alright."

I sat speechless for a moment. It confounded me how he could be so concerned with my well being when he was clearly the only one needing to be worried about. "I know exactly how you feel."

We leaned in and crushed our lips together. Roxas grimaced in pain again and I quickly pulled back.

"I'm sorry," I hurriedly apologized, "Do you think you'll be alright?"

"Yes, I think so."

He started swaying a little and it made me nervous. "You okay?" I asked worriedly, placing my hand on his shoulder to support him.

"Just...a little dizzy." I wasn't convinced.

I quickly pulled the covers off to reveal that his bandages had been completely saturated in blood. Swiftly, but gently, I picked him up and carried him into the bathroom. His wounds took me a lot longer to clean this time than they had last night. They didn't seem to want to stop bleeding. By the time I was finished, Roxas was very tired and very dizzy, but otherwise okay. I laid him back down on the bed and took my original spot on the floor.

His expression turned to guilt and he pouted. "What?" I chuckled. That was something I would have missed the most if he hadn't of come back. He was absolutely adorible when he pouted.

"I don't feel comfortable taking your bed from you, much less having you sit on the floor."

I laughed. He really was too considerate of other's well beings. "It's fine. My bed's softer than yours and I want you to be as comfy as possible."

The blonde blushed a little before mumbling, "Well then come sit up here, next to me."

"Alright," I sighed. His shyness was almost as adorable as when he pouted. He scooted over a little and I laid down next to him. Once I got settled in, the little blonde snuggled next to me, his body much warmer now than it had been earlier today. That also reminded me of something, "Hey, Roxas?" he made a small noise in acknowledgement, "Was...there something between you and Riku?"

"Well..." he mumbled, a dark blush spread across his face.

_Uh oh, didn't mean to make him uncomfortable_.

""B-But you don't have to answer if you don't want to," I quickly recovered the situation, "It's no big deal. I was just curious is all."

Roxas sighed, partly in relief and partly in morose, "No, no...you should know. It really doesn't affect the situation now, but I still figure I should tell you." By the sound of his tone, I believe I could tell where this was going. "When I was alive, before Ven and Vanitas had snapped, Riku...used to be my...my boyfriend. Well, it was only natural seeing as we had been best friends since we were kids that we would eventually start dating. But, as you can imagine, everything changed after Ven killed my parents and Vanitas 'kidnapped' me. Once, Riku had managed to get into the house while they were gone to try and rescue me, but they had come back early and stopped him."

"Well, how come he didn't try it again?" I asked, completely angry at the silverette for not saving my Roxas from his living hell while he had the chance.

"Vanitas threatened him. He told him if he ever came back that they would kill his family, then take him captive and force him to watch as they killed me. After that, he still insisted that he would take the next chance he could to save me, but I convinced him not to, telling him that I was most likely going to die anyway, and he would just be throwing his life away. Thankfully, he listened and stayed away." I couldn't believe Riku actually listened to him. If that were me, I would have gone back, despite the risks. "Unfortunately, my sacrifice was in vain," he chuckled sullenly, "Two years later, I got the news that Riku had been killed saving a child's life in a car accident. After that, I completely shut down. I wouldn't move, wouldn't eat, and I had stopped becoming a source of amusement to Vanitas. Once my brother realized it wasn't benefiting him to keep me around anymore, he got rid of me."

I wrapped my arms around the tiny blonde, pulling him close to my body. Nothing ever seemed to go right for him. His life was just one tragedy after another. Every time he had a chance to be happy, something would come along and ruin it for him.

"So what happened after that?" I whispered softly, running my fingers through his soft spikes.

"Are you sure you're comfortable with this?" He asked, gazing up at me, azure eyes filled with worry.

"Yeah," I chuckled, "I'm fine with it. I'd like to take any chance I get to learn more about your past." After all, Riku may have loved Roxas back then, but I'm fairly positive that now he only has eyes for Sora, and Roxas for me. All I was piking up between the two were some left over residual feelings from a romance long, long ago.

"Okay then," he smiled, curling back up next to my chest, "After that, Riku and I found each other in the Dark Realm. We stayed together, fighting Akukage and living with Zack and Cloud, as well as a few others, just happy to be back together. That's how it was, and that's how I wanted it to stay...but it wasn't meant to be. Five years later, Vanitas, Ven and Terra showed up, picking up right where they left off, only this time, I wasn't ready to go without a fight. Everyone fought for my freedom, but just like our last fight, almost all ended up dead. Eventually, it was only Riku and I against Terra, Ven and Vanitas while he was in his true form. We were just about to finish him off when he used that dark energy blast, aiming it directly at me. There was no time to avoid it, and I was certain I was going to die, but Riku saved me. He sacrificed himself for me just as he had done with you and Sora. That was when I decided I'd had enough. They were too strong, and I figured that if I gave myself willingly, they'd allow me to save my friends. Protecting my dignity and fighting to the end, losing my freedom as well as the lives of my friends, wasn't worth going quietly and having the chance to save the ones that had protected me. In the end, Vanitas granted my wish, figuring that I wouldn't be able to put up a struggle if my strength was drained. However, before he took me away, I told Riku to forget all about me, and to find himself someone he could be with and that he loved. I was so happy when I learned about Sora, that nothing else mattered. Riku was happy and that was all I could ever ask for. Even now, when he's so close, I would never interfere with their relationship. Plus, now that I found you, Riku and I both have another chance at love, with the person we care about most."

There was nothing I could say to that. I simply held him close and kissed his head.

He paused of a moment, nuzzling his head under my chin, "You know what? I don't think I was ever supposed to be with Riku. I think that I was meant to be with you all along."

His thought confused me. "How do ya figure?"

"Well," he sighed, "Every time we had the chance to be together, something always tore us apart. Fate wouldn't even allow him to rescue me from my torment, no matter how many times he tried. But with you, the very first time I needed help, you were there to save me. And even after that, you've always managed to save me, every single time, no matter what the circumstances. That was something Riku was never able to do. I think you were destined to be my savior, Axel. You're my guardian angel."

I could feel the blood rushing to my face, something I wasn't used to. "You sure it's not the other way around?"

Roxas smiled and nodded, "If it wasn't for you, I would still be nothing more than a tormented soul. You freed me from my prison and gave me another chance at life. You're the hero, Axel, not me."

I smiled and hoisted the little blonde onto my lap. "Well I guess that means I'm stuck with you then," I whispered softly, tilting his head up so his crystal cerulean eyes gazed into mine.

"I guess so," he chuckled just as soft, then stretched up and pressed his soft lips to my own. Without hesitation, I returned the kiss. It was gentle, but passionate all at the same time. After a moment we pulled away, still gazing into the other's eyes. "Axel," Roxas whispered.

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

And that, folks is pretty much the end of Blood of a Fallen Angel, but stay tuned for the epilogue plus the much anticipated bonus chapter I promised if I got reviews, which I did, so I am. There's also the sequel, of which I have yet to come up with a name.

Please Review! I would like to know if you guys like my stories and want me to keep writing more. I was thinking of doing another story centered around Zack and Cloud and how they met up and became Tenshi. It sounded like an interesting idea, and if you guys like it, I'd be happy to write it. Please let me know, it is crucial to me as a writer to know what my audience wants!

Plus, the song used in this chapter was Savin' Me by Nickelback, and the one used in chapter 14 was Never Too Late by Three Days Grace, both are awsome songs.

Love you all and keep reviewing!


	16. Epilogue

Epilogue

(Axel POV)

It had been nearly two months since our fight with Vanitas, and it seemed like Roxas was getting better. However, he had, unfortunately, relapsed several times, nearly to the point where we were certain he was going to die. There were times when his wounds would reopen and wouldn't close till he had nearly bled to death. His heart and breathing had also stopped on numerous occasions, and there would be times where he would just slip into a coma for a few days. But the worst was when everything had happened all at once, with no warning whatsoever. That was the time when we had thought he was surely going to die.

Luckily, he had finally gotten to the point where that was all over, and it looked like he was finally going to start recovering. I'd stayed by his side pretty much the entire time. I skipped school and had Demyx and Zexion bring me all of the work I missed, which I would have just blown off anyway, but I mostly spent the time writing. My book was almost done, all that was left to do was send it to the editor and have it published.

"Here it is. Just like I promised," I grinned, handing the stack of papers to the overly excited, bed ridden blonde.

"Oh thank you Axel!" he chirped, snatching the manuscript out of my hands, "You don't know how long I've been waiting to read this."

"Well, I do have some idea, seeing as I was the one who told you about it," I smirked, plopping down in the chair beside him, "I'd say you've been waiting for it for about... four months." Roxas glared at me playfully at my smart ass remark, then quickly went to reading the story.

Suddenly, his eyes stopped on something that caught his attention. His gaze lifted from the paper to me, confusion shrouding his azure eyes. "_Heaven on Angel's Wings_? Is that really what the story's called?"

"What? Something about the title you don't like?" I asked, confused by his reaction.

He shook his head, "It's just...Is this story about me?"

"Well, yeah," I stated 'matter of factly', "It was the only good idea I had. Besides, I knew you'd like it, and that was all that mattered."

Tears started to well up in his eyes and he smiled up at me, "Thank you, Axel. That means a lot."

"Hey," I smiled back, ruffling his gold spikes, "anything for my little angel. But none of that matters if you don't read it!"

"Oh, right," he grinned sheepishly, a large blush spreading over his face, then turned his attention back to the story.

This is what I had in mind when I had told Riku I wanted to save him. Moments like that one; things that would make him feel happy and loved, that's all I wanted, and that's all I would ever want. I wanted to try my utmost to take all of the bad memories away, and replace them with memories he could cherish; and I was determined to make it so.

(Ventus POV)

I wandered aimlessly through the barren castle halls, my mind nowhere in particular. At the moment I was merely considering how I would do away with my brother without the aid of another Tenshi. So far I could come up with nothing. With Vanitas gone, the Akukage had returned to living in the shadows, feeding off lost souls that had strayed from their path. There was no one I could turn to to ask for assistance. All that was left for me to do was plot and conspire.

I didn't much care for getting revenge for Terra and Vanitas. In truth, I despised both of them. What I really wanted was to do away with everything that was connected to my past, so that there would be nothing to hold me back, nothing to turn my attention back and keep me from moving forward. I was certain that the only way to do that was to finish off where Vanitas started and kill Roxas. Then I could truly, finally remove myself from this godforsaken hell hole. Unfortunatly, the only way I was going to do that is if I had help of some sort. I couldn't go up against all of them by myself, that would be suicide.

Eventually, my wandering had led me to the room that Vanitas had used to torture Roxas. I scanned the room until my gaze fell on a pile of Roxas' old shirts. Absentmindedly, I went over to them and picked them up. They were drenched in the little Tenshi's blood, and still carried the all too familiar scent. Just as before, I unconsciously held the cloth to my face and inhaled deeply, allowing the scent of Roxas' blood to overwhelm me. It seemed as though some of Vanitas' habits had rubbed off on me. Disgusted with myself, I threw the clothing into the air and sliced it up with my sword till there was nary a trace of it left.


	17. Bonus Chapter part 1 of 3

Blood of a Fallen Angel

Bonus Chapter (part one)

1881

The steady, monotone voice of the teacher was gradually lulling me to sleep. I could feel my eyelids growing heavier, and eventually my head fell to the desk.

"Roxas," the all too familiar voice next to me whispered. There was a gentle nudge against my arm, followed by another, "Roxas." I whined softly and opened my eyes to find two beautiful aquamarine orbs gazing back at me. "You fell asleep again," Riku whispered, "You have to stop doing that."

"I know," I smiled sheepishly at the silverette, "but I can't help it. His voice is just so...dull." Thankfully, my boyfriend, Riku, had been placed in the seat next to me. He was always there to make sure I stayed awake and payed attention.

"Mr. Strife," the teacher's voice sounded, interrupting the conversation, "Could you please answer the question on the board?"

"Uh," I stood from my seat. I hadn't been paying attention, so it took a few more seconds than usual to answer. "The answer is 845."

"Very good Mr. Strife," he mumbled, then turned back to the board.

"Very good Mr. Strife," Riku chuckled, trying his hardest to impersonate the teacher.

"Why thank you, professor. I do try my hardest." We laughed quietly, but not enough so that we didn't bother the other students around us. However, the teacher didn't notice and that was all that mattered.

The class dragged on for another two hours. When it was finally over, Riku and I decided to go down to our spot by the creek. It was 'our' spot because it had been the place Riku and I had first met, back when we were kids. It had been my first day of school and the other students had been picking on me, so I ran away and ended up falling in the river. Riku had seen the other kids bullying me and wanted to help. When he saw me fall, he jumped in to save me. If he hadn't of been there, I probably would have drown. Ever since then, we'd been best friends and eventually started dating.

"Do you want to do anything later?" the silverette asked, dangling his feet in the cool water.

"We could ride one of the trails," I suggested. I kicked at the water, creating a huge splash and scaring away the minnows that had been trying to hide under my feet.

"That sounds fun," he giggled as the startled fish swam up against the souls of his feet. I smiled and leaned against his shoulder, nuzzling his arm. He laid his head against the top of mine and whispered in a soft voice, "We don't have classes tomorrow, would you like to spend the night at my house?"

My face lit up at his request and I embraced the silverette. "Yes! Of course!" I squealed. He bent down and pressed his soft lips to mine. "But why so suddenly?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. Riku doesn't really enjoy being spontaneous, he likes to plan things out in advance. That's why his proposal confused me.  
Riku turned away and looked at the ground guiltily. "I'd just feel better knowing you weren't at your house."

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying my hardest to play dumb. Riku didn't miss much, mostly because of how close we were. Vanitas had been beating me lately, well, more violently than usual. It wasn't anything serious, but I did have a few prominent bruises.

"I know something has been happening with you and your brothers," the silverette said in a very serious tone, locking his aquamarine eyes with my blue.

"Ven hasn't done anything," I responded innocently.

"I never said he did."

"You said brothers not brother, meaning you were implying Ven as well."

"Well," he smirked, "I meant brother."

"I have to go home first and grab a pair of clothes," I sighed and got to my feet, Riku following my lead.

"I'll come too," the silverette responded, maybe a little too quickly.

(Ventus POV)

"You wouldn't!" I gasped. Vanitas had me pinned with my back to the wall.

"Oh, but I would," my brother sneered slyly, twisting the knife in his fingers, "unless you do exactly what I say."

My gaze fell to the ground, "But you would still hurt him." I jumped as he drove the blade in the wall right next to my head.

"It's better than him being dead. Besides," his gaze turned from me to the window and he signaled for me to look, "keeping him would prevent him from seeing that little tramp ever again, and you would have him all to yourself. I'll even let you look after him after we've had our fun." Just beyond the window, Roxas and Riku were walking up the dirt road that led to our house. My blue eyes hardened at the disgusting sight of the silver haired male. Both he and Roxas were smiling and laughing. It made me sick.

"Fine," I growled, "I'll do it."

A deviant smile crept onto the golden eyed male's face. "Good."

(Roxas POV)

"I can't believe Tidus and Wakka would do something like that," I managed to choke out amidst my bout of laughter.

"I know," Riku chuckled next to me, "Their dads whipped them so hard, they couldn't sit for a week."

Our laughter immediately ceased as we reached the front door to my house. I tried my best to open the door quietly, but my attempts were thwarted as the hinges let out a loud squeak. Checking for any signs of life and finding none, I quickly entered the house. "Come on," I whispered. Riku and I hurriedly ascended the staricase and ran to my room. I gently closed the door behind me and locked it.

"Whew," I sighed in relief and slid to the floor. Riku had taken a seat on the edge of my bed.

"This has got to stop," Riku said lowly, his brows furrowed. Aqua eyes stared at me with an intense seriousness. I couldn't hold my gaze and turned away. "You need to tell someone. Do your parents know?"

"No," I replied quietly, "Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Neither of them are ever home." He hopped off the bed and stalked over to where I sat. I kept my gaze to the floor as he loomed over me. Out of nowhere, the silverette crouched down and embraced me, pulling my head against his chest.

"I'm going to ask my parents if you can stay," he whispered softly.

I gazed him, cocking my head to the side quizzically. "Aren't I already coming over?"

He chuckled and pressed his lips to mine, then pulled away and looked me straight in the eye, "I meant for good. I don't want you living in this house anymore. You're coming to live with me."

"But Riku-" he pressed his finger to my lips, effectively silencing me.

"I've already told my parents that there's something going on, and they're worried about you too. I know that if you and I ask, they'll definitely let you stay."

Tears began streaming from my eyes and I buried my face in Riku's chest. "Thank you, Riku."

We stayed that way for a while. There was nowhere I would rather be at that moment than curled up safe in Riku's arms, the only problem was, where we were we wasn't exactly safe. I quickly gathered my clothes and crept over to the door, hoping and praying we'd be able to get out of the house without being noticed. Every time I went over to Riku's, Vanitas always had some malevolent scheme planned out for my return, and it always ended with me bloody and bruised, crying on the floor. It creaked loudly as I cracked it open. Suddenly, I was met by a burst of gold and black, the very last thing I had wanted to see.

"Why hello, little brother," Vanitas smiled and through the crack in the door. It honestly looked like a genuine smile, but I could tell it was a farce. He must have known Riku was here, and was putting on his 'normal big brother' act for him, in order to draw any suspicion the silverette had away from him. "And where are we headed this fine evening, hm?"

"U-uh...umm..." I stuttered, to scared to form an actual scentence. Thankfully, Riku came to my rescue.

He pushed the door open, revealing his presence. "He's coming to stay with me for a while."

"Oh Riku! It's you," Vanitas gasped, 'surprised'. His gazed shifted from the silverette to me, then back to Riku. "And for how long, exactly, will you be taking him?"

"Just a couple of days," Riku replied calmly and professionally.

"Oh. Well then," the golden eyed male shrugged and took a few steps away, "we'll just have to reschedule 'family time' for later then." He shot me a quick look that sent chills running up my spine. "Have fun, little brother," he smiled and went into his room, shutting the door softly behind him.

That had actually been a lot less painful than I had thought it would be, but I was still nervous about what he had meant by 'family time'. In order to avoid any further unwanted interaction, Riku and I hurried to the front door, passing Ven on the stairs.

"Hi Ven," I smiled politely and waved at my twin, but he didn't respond and kept his eyes glued to the floor as he passed me. However, as he and Riku passed, the blonde shot a death glare at the silverette. Riku returned it, then both continued on their way as if nothing happened. I had no idea what Ven had against Riku, but I guessed it had something to do with the fact that he was my brother and was just looking out for me.

The walk to Riku's home was mostly quiet. We held hands and enjoyed the sunshine and the slight breeze. It was a beautiful spring day, not too hot, not too cold.

"Hey Riku," I gazed up at my boyfriend. He made a small noise in acknowledgment.

"Have you told your parents yet? You know. That you're..."

"That I'm gay?" he asked, finishing my thought, "No, not yet. I think I'm going to wait until I move out. I don't really want to risk the possibility of getting a negative reaction, especially since we're trying to get you to stay. It wouldn't be a smart idea having them know that we're a couple while we're living together. The best thing right now would be to let them keep thinking we're just friends."

"Oh, right," I smiled sheepishly, "I'd forgotten about that." There was a moment of silence as we continued down the dirt road.

"What about you?" Riku asked a moment later, "Have you told your parents?"

"No," I replied solemnly, "I haven't exactly had the opportunity to talk to them about it. Besides, it wouldn't matter anyway. They already know that Vanitas is gay, so why would they care if I was too?"

We arrived at Riku's house a moment later. His parents were wealthy like mine, so his house was fairly large. It wasn't as big as ours, but it was still pretty impressive.

"Mother, Father, I'm home!" Riku called as we entered the house.

"Hello Riku," his father called from the living room.

His mother walked out of the kitchen and smiled sweetly when she saw me. "Well, it seems we have a guest. It's nice to see you again Roxas."

I returned the smile, "It's nice to see you again too, Mrs. Lockheart."  
"Sweety, you don't have to call me Mrs. Lockheart," she patted me on the head, "You can call me Tifa like all of Riku's other friends."

"Oh, right," I could feel the head rise in my cheeks, "thank you Mrs- I-I mean Tifa."

"Come on," Riku nudged my arm and guestured to the stairs, "let's go up to my room." I nodded in confirmation and we both darted up the staircase.

"Dinner's going to be ready in a bit," Tifa called up the stairs.

"Alright!" Riku called back down then closed the door, "So, what do you want to do in the meantime?"

"I don't know," I shrugged and took a seat on the edge of his bed,staring around the room absentmindedly, "What do you want to do?"

"Well...I do have one idea," the silverette smiled slyly and strutted over to where I sat, taking long, drawn out steps while slowly unbuttoning his shirt, "but we'll have to be quiet." He bent down in front of me and began drawing small circles on my chest with his finger, occasionally messing with the buttons on my shirt as he passed over them.

My eyes grew wide and I pulled back a little, I could feel the blood rushing to my face. "What! No, no, no, no, no, no! No! Your parents are here!"

"Like I said," Riku leaned over me, placing one hand on my face and the other on the bed to support himself, "we'll be very quiet. We'll be over and done with before they even notice we've been gone."

"Well..." I contemplated, but my thoughts were quickly cut off by Riku's soft lips as he crushed them to my own. After getting over the initial shock, I tentatively pressed back. His tongue traced the bottom of my lip, seeking entry. I immediately allowed him access and the sweet taste of Riku filled my senses.

The hand that had been on my face slowly began to migrate down to my chest, and he began swiftly undoing the buttons on my shirt, pushing me onto the bed. He fumbled with the last few, but eventually got them off, then ripped the piece of clothing straight from my back. Our tongues battled and saliva dripped from the side of my mouth, his tongue calming every inch of space as his own. I could feel the heat rising in my pants and I silently urged him on as he started to remove them as well, desperately craving space for my quickly hardening erection.

"Riku...*Mmmm...Mmph*...hurry," I pleaded, breaking free from the kiss just long enough to get my request out.

Thankfully, he had them successfully removed a moment later, and had started massaging the shaft with his hand. I slipped mine up his shirt and delicately traced my fingers along his muscular toned chest until I came across a nipple, which I then proceeded to to tease and play with. We both groaned in pleasure at the other's actions. Riku had broken free from the kiss and had now begun to lick and bite at my neck, gradually making his way down my chest until he reached his hand that had been massaging my member. I cried out a little as he continued to run stroke my shaft, but began to lick and suck the head. That was too much.

"Riku...*pant pant*...Riku...I'm going to *pant* cum," I whispered, but he just continued to suck. Eventually, I came...and he swallowed it. "Riku, you're not supposed to *pant* swallow it. It's so *pant* dirty."

He didn't respond. The silverette simply chuckled and went back to licking and nipping at my chest and neck. By this time, our bodies were completely drenched in sweat, the only sounds I could hear were my pants and groans, as well as my heart pounding in my chest. The silverette had stopped massaging my member, and had gradually begun to wedge his fingers inside my. I squeaked a little at the coldness of his hand, but that only made it more intriguing.

"You're a little tight," Riku whispered softly in between kisses.

"It's not my fault," I panted, "Your fingers are cold."

"Well, I'll just have to keep going until you loosen up," he replied seductively, and nipped at my ear.

After a minute or so, his hand had become warmer and I could feel myself becoming more relaxed. Satisfied, he removed his fingers and began to undo his pants, then replaced his fingers with his own hardened member. I'm glad he had used his fingers first, because there was a lot more of him than I had first expected. The silverette had then migrated back to my mouth and had begun finishing what he had started, shoving his tongue down my throat, causing me to release a medley of moans, groans and various other noises. I wrapped my arms around his neck, taking fist-fulls of his silky silver hair and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. He started tracing his fingers along my chest, teasing my nipples occasionally as he passed. I groaned in delight as he nipped at my lower lip, then went back to claiming his territory on the inside of my mouth.

With each thrust brought greater pleasure, and the only thing I could think about was how we could do this as often as we wanted once I started living with him. The thought brought me so much happiness; being with the man I loved whenever I wanted; having him all to myself.

"Riku," I managed to gasp, momentarily breaking free from the kiss.

"Yes," he whispered back.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Unfortunately, I came soon after. It had been too much for my body to handle.

"Riku," I called to the silverette, my voice muffled since I was hiding under his covers.

"Yes?"

"I am SO sorry," I whimpered pathetically.

"It's alright," he chuckled, removing his soiled shirt and exchanging it for a clean one.  
I was so embarrassed, I wanted to die right there. That entire time I had been panting and moaning, Riku had only lost his composure twice, but other than that had remained completely calm and level headed.

"Would you like to borrow some clothes or wear your old ones?" He called from the closet.

I hesitantly peeked out from under the blankets, only so my eyes shone, "It'll be less suspicious if I wear the clothes I came here in."

He shrugged, closing the closet door, "Alright then."

"Boys, time for dinner!" Tifa called up to us from downstairs.

"Be right down!" Riku called back, then turned to look at me, a deviant smirk on his face, "Perfect timing, huh?"

"Yeah, sure," I chuckled, trying to put my pants on underneath the covers, "I'll meet you down in a bit." He smiled tenderly, then left, closing the door behind him. I hopped out of the bed and quickly put my clothes back on.

The sweet aroma of food wafted up the stairs and into the hallway. I inhaled deeply, allowing the scent to fill my senses. It had actually been a little over three days since I'd eaten anything. Vanitas was in charge of buying food, and he usually only bought enough for himself and Terra, leaving Ven and I to scrounge around, begging for scraps. I trotted down the stairs and found Riku and his parents sitting at the table surrounded by various meats and vegetables.

"Sorry," I grinned sheepishly and took a seat next to Riku, "I had to finish reading the last chapter of the book I brought."

"That's quite alright son," Riku's father, Loz, smiled at me, "I find it quite refreshing when a child has the means to still enjoy a good book." Riku and I quickly exchanged mischievous glances, then turned back to the food.

Riku and his father looked fairly similar, both had silver hair and aquamarine eyes. The only real differences were that his father's hair was cut much shorter than Riku's, who had allowed his hair to grow out, and that his father was far more muscular.

"So Roxas," Loz spoke up after a moment, "I'm sure Riku had told you about our offer."

I turned to the silverette, half glaring half shocked, "You told me you hadn't asked your parents yet."

"Yeah, well I couldn't wait around for you," he smirked and ruffled my hair.  
His parents laughed, "Well I guess he did then! So, how would you like to stay with us? We already have a room and a bed for you."

"You're sure it wouldn't be too much trouble?" I asked with nearly pleading eyes, "I really wouldn't want to burden you."

Tifa placed a gentle hand on my shoulder and lowered herself to my eye level, "We want you to stay. You would be absolutely no burden at all, and we'd feel so much better knowing you were safe and out of that house."

My vision started to become blurry as tears began welling up in my eyes. I leaped from my seat and embraced Tifa, "Oh thank you! Thank you so much!"  
Riku's father laughed, "I guess the answer is yes!"

His parents had given me the room next to Riku's and told me I could gather my things after classes on Monday. Despite having been given a bed, I decided to sneak into Riku's room and sleep with him that night.

"Hey babe," the silverette whispered as I entered the room and held up the blanket, motioning for me to climb in. I didn't need to be told, that had been my attention all along. I hopped in and snuggled up against his warm chest as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Riku," I whispered, nuzzling my head under his chin.

"Hm?"

"I love you."

He giggled and ruffled my hair, "I love you too."

The weekend seemed to fly by. Riku and I went horseback riding along one of the more scenic trails. The apple and Cherry blossoms were in full bloom and the air was filled with the strong aroma of flowers. We took our time, admiring the scenery, then stopped when we came to a waterfall to rest the horses. The water was a little chilly, but not enough to keep us from going swimming. Later on, we joined Tidus, Wakka, Hayner, and Seifer in a game of stick ball. Unfortunately, the silverette and I were chosen to be on separate teams, and his won. I didn't really care though, I was usually always on the losing team.

That night, after we had eaten dinner, Riku brought up a completely random subject.

"Do you ever wonder what your brother Cloud was like?" the silverette asked out of nowhere, successfully taking my attention off of the book I had been reading.

"Sometimes I guess," I sighed and marked the page I was on, "It's always a comforting thought to think about him whenever I'm depressed. I always picture him as being a strong, caring person. Someone the EXACT opposite of Vanitas."

"That does sound like a comforting thought," Riku smiled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, "I can't wait for you to live here. You'll be so much better off than you were living at your house." My gaze dropped from my boyfriend to the ground. Riku, obviously noticing my sudden change in mood, kissed my forehead and asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's just...I can't help thinking about Ven. He's going to be stuck in the house, all alone with Vanitas and Terra."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Riku grunted and pulled me onto his lap, then began stripping me like a mother does to their child before bed, "He and Vanitas don't really seem to bother one another much."

I pouted and crossed my arms as he began taking off my pants. "I'm not a child you know." The silverette simply laughed and continued. We snuggled under the covers together and he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Oh," he gasped, nearly giving me a heart attack, "there was one thing I forgot."

"What was it?"

Riku sighed guiltily, "I have something to do after class tomorrow, but I will be by your house later to help you with your things."

"It's alright," I smiled, nuzzling my head against his chest, "I'm just glad you're coming. It'll make things so much easier."

He chuckled softly and kissed my head. "Good night, love," he cooed in my ear.  
"Good night."

* * *

Class seemed to drag, but finally came to an end.

"I'll be by your house a little later today, alright?" Riku smiled and gently pressed his lips to mine, "My parents have already talked to yours, and they said they were perfectly fine with it. So gather your belongings and I'll help you take them back to my house."

"Thank you, Riku," I embraced the silverette. He in turn wrapped his arms around my back, pulling me close.

"It's no problem at all. Now hurry home."

Riku and I waved goodbye, and I hurried down the dirt path to my home. As I neared the large house, I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of foreboding. However, I immediately dismissed it and rushed to the stables to find Ven. He was undoubtedly preening his prized stallion, Hikaru, which happened to be his pride and joy. The two of them had won countless riding competitions, so they were always training after classes.

"Ven!" I called as I approached Hikaru's stall. I was greeted with a loud whinny by the large, red creature, but there was no Ven. It was odd he wasn't there, but then again, he could very well be in the house doing chores or school work. I gave Hikaru a sugar cube and headed off toward the house.

The building echoed with the creaking of the door as I tiptoed inside. "Ven?" I whispered, trying not to alert Vanitas to my prescence. There was no answer. I rushed up the stairs into my room and quickly locked the door.

That's odd. Normally Ven would've answered, or Vanitas would've come down and beaten me. Where is everyone?

After gathering all my things (which wasn't much) I quietly snuck out of my room and tiptoed into Ven's, but my twin was nowhere to be found. Not only that, but Vanitas was gone as well. I checked everywhere, but found no one. Finally, I was fed up. I went into the kitchen and opened the pantry door, then scanned the back until I found the hidden lever. If they weren't in the basement, I didn't know where they were. I slowly pushed open the large, wooden door and cautiously made my way down the stone steps. Much to my surprise, I could distinctly hear voices coming from further down. I peeked around the corner and found Vanitas, Ven and Terra, all standing over something with their backs turned to me. It was difficult to tell what it was since their bodies were shielding it.

"Nice work kid," Terra laughed and patted Ven on the back, "To be honest, I didn't think you had it in ya." Ven didn't reply. He simply stood there staring at whatever was on the floor.

"It's true, Ven," Vanitas added, placing his arm on my twin's shoulder, "you were great, and don't worry, you'll get what I promised you earlier."

"I honestly don't care anymore," Ven replied solemnly.

I took a small step closer, trying to get a better look at what they were standing around, but accidentally tripped over a piece of firewood and landed flat on my face.

"Hey look who's here," Terra sneered, and all three turned to face me. Ven's expression was completely dead, he held no emotion at all. I gasped in horror as I beheld the three. Each was drenched in a thick coat of blood, Ven more so than the other two. The blonde was also wielding a large, blood soaked ax.

"V-V-Ven?" I stuttered, hesitantly getting to my feet, "W-What, what did you do?"

"Why don't you see for yourself, brother?" Vanitas grinned maliciously, and stepped to the side, allowing me to see what they had been hovering over earlier. I nervously inched my way forward and gasped, horrified at what I saw. Our parents were lying in a bloody heap on the floor, huge, gaping wounds covering every inch of their bodies.

"Y-Y-Y-You k-killed our p-parents," I clasped my hand over my mouth and stumbled backwards, falling into the pile of wood against the wall. Terra and Vanitas laughed maniacally and stalked toward me. My mind screamed at me to run, but my body was frozen. All I could do was cower in fear as the two men loomed over me.  
"Terra, my love," Vanitas cooed to his partner, "why don't you take care of my little brother while Ven and I go work on a few things?"

The large brunette laughed and cracked his knuckles, "I'd love to."

Ven and Vanitas returned back up the stairs, Vanitas stopping for a moment to address Terra, "Make sure not to kill him though, I would like to have my way with him later."

Once the door clicked shut, Terra grasped my hair and lifted me so our eyes were level. "Alright shit face," the brunette spat, "the louder you scream, the harder I kick your ass." Suddenly, I was overcome by immense pain as his fist made contact with my lower abdomen. I dropped to the ground with a thud and clutched at my stomach. Allowing me no time to recover, Terra delivered several swift kicks to my face and chest, breaking my jaw and driving several of my ribs into my lungs. Blood dripped from my mouth as I gasped for air.

"P-please...stop," I pleaded, tears streaming down my face.

Terra simply laughed at my cries, "I don't think so, kid."

I screamed in pain as he yanked me off the floor by my arm, ripping it from the joint.  
"Remember what I told you," he growled, throwing me into the pile of wood, "the more you scream, the faster you die."

My vision instantly went black as my head struck the edge of a piece of firewood, blood flowing down my face. As the world slowly came back into focus, I was lifted once again by the throat. I could just barely make out Terra's malevolent smile as another fist came in contact with my stomach. The wind was knocked straight from my lungs and a pool of blood gushed from my mouth. He laughed again and dropped me to the ground. I cringed and slowly curled myself into a ball on the cold stone floor.

"That was fun," he sneered, "We should do it again sometime."

The door to the basement slammed shut. I gasped for air as the blood filled my lungs, each breath sending a jolt of pain coursing through my body.

(Riku POV)

I rapped on the door and took a step back. You'd think with all the time I gave him he'd be waiting outside. A moment later, the door opened and much to my dismay, it was Vanitas.

"Yes, how may I help you?" he smiled politely, stepping outside and closing the door behind him. I absolutely loathed that fake grin of his, but I sucked it up and returned the smile.

"Is Roxas ready yet?"

His expression instantly dropped, "Oh, I guess you hadn't heard."

"Heard what?" I asked, panicked.

"Our parents decided against letting him live with you. He's going to be sent to a boarding school in Radiant Garden tomorrow."

Something wasn't right. My father made sure to tell his parents everything Vanitas had been doing. It should be him who being sent to the boarding school, not Roxas.

"Well, could I see him then, you know, to say goodbye?"

A look of surprise came over his face, but was quickly covered with the melancholy look from before. My question had obviously not crossed his mind as he was devising his plan for the conversation we were going to have. "Roxas said he doesn't want to see anyone right now," he sighed, "He's a bit depressed about to whole turn of events."

That did it, something was definately wrong. Roxas wasn't the type of person to hide from people when he's upset. My brows furrowed and I glared at the golden eyed male.

"Bull shit," I growled.

His expression turned to that of false surprise. He placed his hands on his chest as he gasped, "Why Riku, are you accusing me of lying? I assure you, I'm telling you the truth."

"Then let me see him. I don't care if he gets mad at me," I shoved my way past Vanitas, glancing around the house before sprinting upstairs.

(Roxas POV)

I heard someone knock on the door, then the sound of Riku's voice.  
Riku! He'll save me!

"Ri...ku," I gasped, my voice nothing more than a hoarse whisper. This was probably the only chance I was ever going to get to escape, and I wasn't going to waist it by just lying on the floor. I slowly pulled myself up the stairs, leaving a trail of blood behind me.

There was a shuffling and the sound of someone running up the stairs. "Roxas!" Riku called frantically. Before I could call back, I collapsed at the top of the stairs, completely drained of strength.

(Riku POV)

"Roxas!" I called again. He hadn't been in his room. His stuff had been packed and it appeared as though he had been ready to leave, but Roxas himself was nowhere to be found. I returned back downstairs and found Vanitas leaning against the door frame, a smug look on his face. "What the hell did you do with him?" I snarled, lifting the golden eyed male by the collar of his shirt. He continued to smile, virtually unfazed.

"I have done nothing with my brother."

"BULL SHIT! You told me he was in his room."

"Ah, ah, ah," Vanitas wagged his finger scolding, "I told you he was sulking, but I never said where."

This guy was really starting to piss me off. Everything he said just made me want to rip his head off. I knew he was doing something terrible to Roxas, and I knew I had to help him. "Tell me!" I demanded.

"Now, now Riku, such anger. I don't know where my brother is. Believe me, if I did, I would tell you," the dark haired male sneered, "Now if you keep misbehaving, I'm going to have to ask Terra to assist you out of my home." The large brunette appeared from the other room, a devilish smile spread across his face.

"Fine," I growled, releasing the man's shirt, "I'll go, but I don't believe a single word that's come from your mouth."

"That's fine by me," Vanitas smiled, raising his arms defensively, "You can choose not to believe me, but don't go sticking your nose where it doesn't belong." A glint of malevolence flashed in his eyes.

Despite the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, I turned and left the house. However, I would be back, and I would find out what was happening to Roxas.  
Don't worry Babe, I'll save you.

* * *

Hey! 

PLEASE REVIEW! When I had this up earlier, I got absolutely no reviews. I'm debating on whether or not to even write the second part. You gotta give me some input!


	18. Bonus Chapter part 2 of 3

Blood of a Fallen Angel

Bonus Chapter (part two)

(Roxas POV)

The footsteps faded and the door slammed shut.

"No...Riku...Don't go..." I desperately tried to scream, but all that came out was a gurgled whisper. Eventually, the pain became too much and my body gave out. My head collided with the edge of the top step and the world went dark.

(Ventus POV)

"Ven, would you be a dear and take this? I would like to have my toy fixed before I play with it," Vanitas smiled and handed me a box of medical supplies. I didn't respond, but took the box and headed downstairs. "Good boy!" Vanitas chirped, "Don't take too long, we're discussing plans later and you need to be a part of things." I snorted and opened the door to the basement.

Roxas was lying unconscious at the top of the stairs, blood dripping from his mouth and a fresh gash in his forehead. Normally, a sight like this would have sent me into a frenzied panic. However, ever since I slaughtered my parents, I could no longer feel any emotion. I lifted my twin's limp body and carried him back down the stairs, setting him down gently on the stone floor. Our parents' bodies were lying close by. Vanitas would eventually tell me to do something with them, but for the moment I was going to leave them there.

I removed his shirt revealing countless bruises of various sizes and colors. His body was in very bad shape. If he didn't get medical treatment, he would probably die. Alas, I began running my fingers along his chest to feel for broken ribs. There were several, and I had to carefully realign them before bandaging his chest. He whimpered in pain, but I ignored it. His arm had been dislocated, so I also had to pop that back into place as well.

Once I was positive he wasn't going to die, I packed up the remaining medical supplies and went back upstairs. Vanitas and Terra were at the kitchen table surrounded by several bags containing various different substances, of which I didn't care to know what they were.

"Ah, Ven," Vanitas smiled when he saw me, "Please, come join us."

I had wanted to clean the blood off my hands and change into a clean outfit, but I sat down none the less. To be honest, I had no intention of actually participating in their little scheme, I was simply the hired help. The 'meeting' was virtually uneventful. I kind of faded in and out, all I heard was something about drugs and money, but other than that, nothing really peaked my interest.

"Ventus," the sound of Vanitas' voice broke me from my stupor, "would you go and check on Roxas for me? See if he's ready for me to play with?" I nodded and returned to the basment, glad to be doing something other than listening to information that didn't pertain to me.

Roxas was still lying on the ground, practically drowning in his own blood. Sighing, I turned his head and allowed the blood to drain from his mouth. He coughed and slowly opened his eyes.

"Ven?" his voice was raspy and barely audible. He gazed at me for a moment before his eyes rolled back and his head fell limply to the floor. I quickly checked to make sure he was still alive before returning upstairs.

"Well?" Vanitas asked, hopefully.

"Unless you want him to die, you should probably wait," I replied apathetically. My brother's golden eyes went hard and he cursed to himself. I had no idea what interest he held in Roxas, and I didn't care to know.

(Riku POV)

"Where's Roxas?" my mother asked as I stormed into the house. My fater stood from his chair, and listened intently to what I had to say. He instantly knew something was wrong when I entered the house alone.

"I...*urgh*..." I growled, planting my face in my hands, "I don't know."

"What happened?" my father demanded, silver brows furrowed in concern.

"I went to get him, but Vanitas stopped me at the door. He said their parents had decided to send him to boarding school rather than having him stay here. Pardon my language, but I know for a fact that everything he told me was complete bull shit!"

"Were you able to see Roxas?"

"No," I sighed, clenching my fist, "I looked everywhere for him. They're doing something terrible to him, I know it! We have to do something, Father!"

"Alright," he grunted and grabbed his coat, "Let's go, Riku."

(Roxas POV)

I remembered seeing Ven, but other than that, my memory was a complete blank. Pain coursed through my body, especially my chest, as I coughed up the remaining blood in my lungs.

"D-damn it," I gasped, trying my hardest to sit up. Unfortunately, my body wouldn't cooperate, so I just lay there helplessly on the floor. Suddenly, the sound of wood scraping across the floor as the door opened filled the room, and I cringed in fear as Vanitas descended the staircase.

"Well, well, you're awake," the golden eyed male sneered. He leaned casually against a nearby wall, gazing at me lustfully. "It's too bad, I should have told Terra to go a little easier on you. I wanted ever so much to enact my fantasies on you today, but I guess I'll have to wait. Ah, yes, I almost forgot. Our little Riku was here earlier. He seemed awfully anxious for your safety." My eyes widened at the sound of Riku's name. Vanitas, seeing my reaction, laughed maniacally. "It seems you're still conscious enough to react to your lover's name. Hm...he is rather adorable. Perhaps I should kill his parents and acquire him as well. That way you won't be as lonely when you're crying on the floor."

"Don't...you...dare...hurt him," I managed to growl.

His eyes widened in surprise at first, then narrowed in pleasure. "Fine, I won't hurt him...but under one condition..." He stalked toward me, kneeling down and delicately lifting my chin, "I don't have to wait for you to recover, and can have my way with you right now."

"F-fine," I gasped for breath. The position he was holding my head in made it difficult to breathe. "J-just...don't...hurt Riku."

"Very well," he whispered seductavely and ran his tongue up my face before dropping my head to the hard ground. He then straddled my body, and began to remove both his pants and mine.

"Wha-What are...you-" I was suddenly cut off as a sharp pain shot through my jaw.

"Shut up," he commanded, "The only thing I want to hear from you is a lot of screaming." He bent down and caressed his body against my own, running his tongue along my chest, slowly making his way up to my face. I gasped as the male forced his tongue into my mouth, making it impossible to breathe.

One of his hands moved along my chest, his nails ripping into my flesh and drawing blood. However, that's not the hand I was concerned about. His other hand migrated to between my thighs. Then, with one swift motion, he thrust his fingers inside me; his nails ripping me open from the inside. I screamed in pain; my cries muffled as he shoved his tongue deeper down my throat.

"That's more like it," Vanitas purred, pulling away and allowing me to catch my breath. The longer his hand stayed inside my body, the wider the gashes became.

"PLEASE, STOP!" I cried in desperation.

He simply laughed at my pleas, then removed his fingers and replaced them with his own hardened, pulsating member. His nails continued to leave gashes along my chest, and now he bit at my ears and neck, ultimately drawing more blood. I shrieked in agony as he filled me. Semen mixed with the blood and entered the cuts. It felt as though I was literally being torn apart from the inside. I don't know if it was the loss of blood, or the blinding pain, but my vision went black. The very last thing I heard was Vanitas' bone chilling laugh.

(Riku POV)

My muscles tensed as we approached the large, foreboding house. My father followed close behind.

"Open up!" I shouted, pounding on the door.

"Riku," my father placed a hand on my shoulder, pulling me behind him, "let me handle this."

The door opened, revealing a rather apathetic looking Ventus. "Hello Mr. Lockheart, is there something I can assist you with?" the blonde asked in a monotone voice.

"Are your parents home?" my father asked, in a much more polite manner than the situation called for.

"I'm sorry. Our parents are out, along with Roxas."

"And they just left you boys by yourselves?" the suspicion in my father's voice told me he wasn't buying the story.

"Yes sir. Vanitas is nineteen and I'm fifteen. We're old enough to take care of ourselves."

"And what's to be the problem, gentlemen?" Vanitas appeared beside his brother.

"You wouldn't mind if we had a look around your house, would you?"

The deviant grin appeared on the golden eyed male's face once again. "I'm going to have to decline your request, I'm afraid." Both my father and I jumped in surprise. "You see, we're not exactly accepting visitors at the moment." I gasped slightly as I saw a small drop of blood at the corner of his mouth. That was clearly not his blood.

"We won't be but a moment," my father insisted as he tried to push past Vanitas.

The dark haired male blocked his path, "Like I said, sir, we're not accepting visitors. Now, if you don't leave, I'm going to have to contact the authorities and charge you with trespassing on private property. Good day to you, Mr. Lockheart." The door was slammed in our faces.

"How dare they!" I snarled and attacked the door, but my father stopped me.

"No Riku," he sighed.

"But Father!" I pleaded, "Roxas could be in there, dying!"

"Don't worry, we'll be back. The first thing we need to do is confirm that Roxas, is indeed, in there. They're obviously confident they've hidden him well, seeing as they were willing to call the police."

"Right," I nodded. There was no way I was just going to stand back and let them hurt Roxas. I'll wait until they leave, then I'll find him, and rescue him. There's no way I'm letting them get away with this!

* * *

(Roxas POV)

It had been about a week since the incident. By some luck, be it good or bad, I had managed to survive the beating. Thankfully, I was still far too injured for Terra and Vanitas to have their way with me again. All I could do was lie on the floor and force myself to breathe, pain ripping through my body like a thousand rusty knives with every movement of my chest.

(Ventus POV)

"Are you certain we should be leaving him alone?" I asked, climbing into the vehicle.

"Why Ventus, you think he's just gonna get up and walk out?" Terra chuckled.

"Stop worrying, Ven. He's not going anywhere," Vanitas scolded and turned the key in the ignition. Supposedly, we were going downtown to discuss business with a few 'clients'. The last thing I wanted to do was get involved in their little drug scheme, but I was dragged along none the less. I couldn't help but feel I was being watched as we pulled onto the road, and it was rather disconcerting

(Riku POV)

_Finally! They're gone._

I bolted out from behind the trees I'd been hiding in, and sprinted straight for the abandoned house. There had been rumors going around, and I caught wind they were leaving somewhere today. This was an opportunity I could not afford to miss.

"Dammit," I grunted, yanking on the knob of the locked door. If this one was locked, that likely meant the others were as well. Waisting no time, I took a large rock and headed to the back of the house. There was a loud crash as hurled the rock at a window, and crawled through. Some of the glass sliced me up a bit, but I didn't really care. "Roxas! ROXAS!" I called frantically, running into the living room.

(Roxas POV)

"Roxas! ROXAS!" The sound of my name being called snapped me from my half conscious stupor. It was so familiar. I recognized the voice.

_Riku?_

"Roxas!"

_Riku!_

Pushing myself past the pain, I rolled onto my stomach and pulled myself over to the staircase. "Ri...ku," I choked. My legs were too weak to hold me, so I was forced to crawl up the stairs, blood trailing behind me as I went.

"Roxas," his voice was growing faint.

"Riku," I called a little louder than before. Adrenaline coursed through my body, dulling my pain and allowing my strength to return. "Riku!"

(Riku POV)

_Roxas?_

I could have sworn I heard him calling my name. It was faint, but I was positive I heard it.

(Roxas POV)

"Riku!" I screamed, pounding against the door with every ounce of strength I had left. I couldn't let him leave, not when I was so close to freedom. "RIKU!"

(Riku POV)

"Roxas! Roxas, where are you!" I rushed into the room where the cries were the loudest. To my surprise, it was the kitchen.

"The basement!" he cried. I gazed around the room frantically, checking for another door.

"Where? I can't find the door!"

"The pantry!"

"What?" _The pantry?_

"Inside the pantry! There's a hidden door...leading to...the basement!" his cries were starting to become weaker, and I could hear him gasping for air. I had to hurry.

I opened the door and scanned the walls for any sort of abnormality that might signify the entryway. Finally, I found a small latch and forced open the heavy wooden door. As soon as I did, Roxas toppled over, his limp body falling into my arms. "Riku," he gasped softly. I fell to my knees and cradled the blonde. There wasn't a single part of his body that wasn't covered in either dry or fresh blood. His face was swollen and bruised along with the rest of his body, and he struggled desperately to breathe. The main thing that caught my attention, however, was the large blood stain on the crotch of his pants.

"You were raped," I gasped, unable to breathe. _This is horrible!...Dammit, I knew I should have rescued him when I had come here with my father. I could have saved him! _"Oh Roxas," I sobbed.

He clutched my shirt, and buried his face in my chest. "Riku," the blonde gasped, "you need...to get out...of here."

"No," I corrected, "we need to get out of here." He grimaced and whimpered in pain as I lifted him. Suddenly, a loud click sounded right next to my head. I immediately froze, and pulled Roxas closer to my body protectively.

"Drop the boy, and put your hands in the air." I did as instructed, tentatively placing Roxas on the ground then holding my hands above my head.

"Good job, Ven," an all too familiar voice cooed, "It's a good thing you're so paranoid. Otherwise we would have just kept going." Vanitas strutted into the room, brushing suggestively against me as he stepped into view. "Well what do we have here?" he gently brushed the bangs from my face, and his gaze turned lustful, "A knight in shining armor, come to save his sweet prince?" Before I knew what hit me, I was lying flat on the ground, my face tender and beginning to swell. The dark haired male turned from me to Roxas, who still lay cringing and panting heavily on the ground. The little blonde cried in pain as Vanitas delivered a solid kick to his abdomen.

"Roxas!" I cried, and desperately struggled to my feet. Unfortunately, my attempts were thwarted as a blow from the shaft of Ven's gun was delivered to the back of my head. The attack sent me crashing back to the floor with a thud.

"You thought you could just come into my house and steal my pet?" Vanitas snarled. I screamed as he lifted me to my feet by my hair, so that my aqua eyes met his gold.

"What are you going to do?" I gasped, half chuckling, "You can't kill me. My father knows I'm here. If I don't return home, he'll know it was you."

The golden eyed male simply laughed and released his grip on my hair. I toppled to the floor, only to be held captive once again as Terra held my arms to my back, restraining my movements. "Silly boy. I'm not going to kill you. You know as well as I that I can't afford to have the police snooping around here." He knelt down beside Roxas and ran his fingers through the blonde's golden spikes. By this time, blood was flowing from his mouth and his breathing was quick and shallow. Vanitas kept his hand on Roxas' head, but turned back to me, "I'm going to release you, but if you should tell anyone of what you've seen here today, well." The man smiled maliciously, then slowly began to dig his nails into the blonde's scalp. He screamed in agony as blood trickled down the side of his head and face.

"Stop!" I pleaded, despirately trying to squim free from the brunette's grasp, "Please stop! Don't hurt him!"

Vanitas laughed, but released his grip on the blonde. "And that was only an appetizer. If you should talk, I will make you suffer. You're parents shall die a most horrific death, then I'll take you and beat you until only your eyes work. After that, you can watch as I slowly and painfully rip the life from your precious little Roxas." I gasped in horror and my aquamarine eyes went wide. The large brunette on top of me chuckled and released my body. However, all I could do was stay frozen on the floor, and gaze helplessly at my dying blonde. "I'll give you some time with your little prince to think things over. Vanitas stood, and signaled for Terra and Ventus to follow as he walked out of the room. Ventus gave me one last death glare before following his older brother.

I waited until I heard the door click shut before rushing to the blonde's side. "Roxas," I whispered, delicately lifting his head onto my lap.

"Ri...ku," he gasped softly, "don't...worry about...me,...just...go."

"I can't just leave you here."

He smiled weakly and gently held his hand to my face. "I'm not...going to make...it anyway. Please...just go. I don't...want...to see...you get...hurt. Find...someone...new...and give...the love...you held...for me...to them."

"I can't just forget about you. You're the only one my heart belongs to."

"Please...Riku...I don't...want...you to...waist your life...waiting for...me." He grimaced again and pulled his hand from my face to clutch his stomach.

"You're sure," I sobbed, caressing his cheek with the back of my hand, "that this is what you want?"

Tears streamed down my face as he nodded and whispered, "Live life...for the...both of us." I bent down and gently pressed my lips to his. He placed his hand on the back of my head, and ran his fingers through my hair.

(Roxas POV)

I pulled him closer, despite the pain. I knew that that was going to be the last time I would be treated like a human being; the last time I would feel loved. He said he would come back, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he got hurt because of me. That's why I told him to go. As long as I knew Riku was alive and well, that would be enough to get me through this; knowing that someone out there still cared for me.

Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end. The door slammed, startling Riku and I apart. We turned to see Terra standing in the doorway, a disgusted look spread across his face, "Time to go, kid."

Riku nodded solemnly, then gave me a quick hug, whispering softly in my ear, "Just remember that I will always love you." He gave me kiss on the forehead, and gently laid me on the ground. Then he stood and trudged out the door. That was the last time I ever saw him.

* * *

Hello people of fanfiction!

Sorry it took so long. Here's part two of three of the bonus chapter.


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